Fire injures one at Johnsonville Sausage

A fire in a microbiology lab at the Johnsonville Sausage Co. Countryside Plant left one employee with second degree burns Friday, July 24.

According to the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, the fire was reported at 11:09 a.m. at the Johnsonville Sausage Countryside Plant, located at N6977 Johnsonville Way in the town of Sheboygan Falls.

Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Mark Rupnik said smoke and flames were reported in the microbiology lab inside the building, but no smoke or flames were visible outside the building.

No other facility or home was evacuated in the vicinity of the fire.

One employee suffered second-degree leg burns from a chemical that had caught fire during the blaze.

Johnsonville Fire Chief Dennis Roehrborn said the blaze was contained a small area and extinguished within about five minutes of firefighters' arrival.

The microbiology lab is a quality control area where employees test raw materials and finished products.

Along with the Johnsonville Fire Department, the town of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department, emergency medical services and sheriff’s department officers responded to the scene.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.