What is Hamlet chicken processing plant fire?
[[File:Imperial foods - cooker 2.jpg|thumb|right|The frying vat after the fire. Damage to the steel beams supporting the roof can be seen.]] The '''Hamlet chicken processing plant fire''' was an [[industrial]] [[accident]]. It occurred on September 3, 1991 at the Imperial Foods Chicken Processing Plant in Hamlet, [[North Carolina]], [[United States]]. In the center of the plant, a [[Hydraulics|hydraulic]] line failed and ignited the [[cooking oil]] in a {{convert|25|ft|m}} long [[frying]] vat. An automatic [[fire extinguisher]], which was state of the art at the time, had been installed over the cooking vat, but it failed to put the [[fire]] out. The fire spread quickly and many workers were unable to escape due to locked fire exits. 25 workers died and 54 were injured in the fire. The plant never reopened and was [[Demolition|demolished]] in 2001. The owner of the facility pled [[Guilt (law)|guilty]] to 25 counts of [[manslaughter]], and was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison. He was [[parole]]d after four years. The fire was the worst industrial accident in North Carolina's history and led to new safety requirements for industrial facilities in the United States. [[Category:1991 in the United States]] <!--[[Category:1990s disasters in North America]]--> [[Category:1990s in North Carolina]] [[Category:Building and structure fires]] [[Category:1991 disasters]] [[Category:Fires in the United States]]