ATF Enters Investigation Into Fire at Egg Manufacturing Facility in Farwell

FARWELL, Texas, July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Response Team
(NRT) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along
with ATF special agents from Lubbock Field Office, Dallas Field Division, have
entered the investigation of a large fire that occurred July 9 at the
Cal-Maine Foods egg production plant in Farwell, located in far West Texas.
The fire occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m., and it is estimated that 800,000
chickens were killed. The NRT arrives at the scene today.

"The fire destroyed four of the nine laying houses at the site, as well as
killing some hens at a fifth house. Damages are estimated at $20 million,"
said Ken Chisholm, assistant special agent in charge of ATF Dallas Field
Division. "ATF is working with the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office and the
Parmer County Sheriff's Office in the joint investigation."

The NRT is being brought into the fire investigation because of the
difficulties presented when investigating a fire of this size. Five separate
buildings, each approximately 24,000 square feet, were destroyed; and four
fire fighters were injured from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation during
suppression efforts.

In 1978, ATF developed the NRT to bring its expertise to federal, state and
local investigators in meeting the challenges faced at the scenes of
significant arson and explosives incidents. The NRT consists of four teams
organized geographically to cover the United States. Each team can respond
within 24 hours to assist state and local law enforcement/fire service
personnel in onsite investigations.

In addition to investigating hundreds of large fire scenes, the NRT has also
been activated to scenes such as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the
Oklahoma City federal building bombing and the Sept. 11, 2001, Pentagon crash
site, as well as blasts at explosives and ammunition manufacturing plants,
legal fireworks factories and illegal explosive device manufacturing
operations.

The teams are each composed of veteran special agents who have post-blast and
fire origin-and-cause expertise; forensic chemists; explosives enforcement
officers; fire protection engineers; accelerant detection canines; explosives
detection canines; intelligence support, computer forensic support and audit
support. The teams work alongside state and local officers in reconstructing
the scene, identifying the seat of the blast or origin of the fire, conducting
interviews, and sifting through debris to obtain evidence related to the
bombing/arson.

Further complementing the teams' efforts are technical, legal and intelligence
advisers. Moreover, a fleet of fully equipped response vehicles strategically
located throughout the United States is available to provide logistical
support.

This investigation will be the 20th activation for fiscal year 2009 and the
678th activation since the inception of the program.

ATF is the federal agency with jurisdiction for investigating fires and crimes
of arson. More information on ATF can be found at www.atf.gov.
Contact: Tom Crowley
Special Agent, PIO
Cell: (214) 435-5226

SOURCE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Tom Crowley, Special Agent, PIO, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives, +1-214-435-5226