Slim Jim Factory Explodes, Kills Three, Requires HazMat Team
A ConAgra plant near Raleigh, N.C., that makes and packages Slim Jim beef jerky was rocked by a huge explosion on Tuesday, killing three employees and sending dozens of workers and three firefighters to hospital with severe burns or "exposure to toxic fumes."
ConAgra spokespeople have been quick to offer funding for workers affected by the plant collapse, but not quite quick enough to explain why the heck they need 34,000 gallons of ammonia to make a spicy meat stick in the first place. [Ammonia is used to refrigerate the meat. -Ed.] The blast occurred in the packaging area of the plant.
Update: Chris here. I approved the photo selection for this post, and I do apologize for offending anyone. I did not think the original pic provided much editorial commentary one way or the other on the story, as it was really just a recreation of the imagery used in their marketing, so I said "publish!" I've read the comments, however, and I see that it touched a nerve for a lot of readers.
Keep the rest of the comments related to the story from here on, please, and direct any further complaints about the tone or appropriateness of the post to me, or to Ben or Meg. (The best way to bring editorial complaints to our attention is to email a politely worded alert to us directly, as we aren't always monitoring comments on every post.)
-Chris
Post a comment
Comments:
Mmmm...Slim Jim. Once every 6 years or so I'll have one. It takes that long to get the taste out of your mouth.
So... how about an Air France disaster story on Consumerist with a wacky picture of someone waiting in line for a flight? Or even better, a Holocaust museum piece with fun-loving security guards?
@PunditGuy: um why would we care about that? This is consumerist related (factory that makes a food product blows up) Those are not.
I drive by that factory every day and I had no idea what was in there. I kind of like slim jims.
@Jim Topoleski: You're missing PunditGuy's point. I think what he's trying to say is that its in poor taste to show a wacky photo when we're talking about an accident that killed people.
Have you ever thrown a Slim Jim into a campfire? They burn like a mother. I've also noticed that if you cook spam on a grill, there's a point at which it catches on fire and burns for a very, very long time.
Is Randy Savage OK?
@Dirk: Of the product we are talking about...
I mean seriously this is slim jim, they dont put out non-wacky photos of that junk.
This was written kind of light-heartedly for an incident that killed 3 people and injured dozens of others, don't you think?
This happened about 2-3 miles from my house. I was sadly disappointed to come home and not find my house comically covered in Slim Jims.
I was also saddened by the two deaths, and I have hopes for those that are currently still critical. Fortunately they're at one of the best hospitals in the country right now.
Stop being obtuse, they could have used a picture of a ConAgra logo or something. This article is the kind of crap that Consumerist would be very quick to jump on a corporation about. I'm disheartened in this site's lack of editorial oversight on this story.
Three people killed? Dozens sent to hospital with severe burns and exposure to toxic fumes? HILARIOUS!!! Stay classy, Consumerist.
Seriously, I would really like an explanation from Lucy or someone else affiliated with the site as to why they think this article was OK. This is terribly distasteful.
@atarisuicide: I agree... I think that most Consumerist articles are written well but this is in poor taste (no pun intended, seriously).
now THAT'S some explosive flavor. OOOOOH YEAAAAH!
@John Henschen: Also, Frito's make excellent firestarters, and will even burn when slightly wet. Always keep some in your survival packs! they food as well, or so I've heard.
The article this post links to begins: "Authorities on Wednesday afternoon removed two more bodies from the rubble of a Garner food plant following a Tuesday explosion."
What about that made people think that the right response was a lighthearted post making fun of ConAgra spokespeople and the name of a street?
@atarisuicide: Agreed. Yes, Slim Jims are inherently funny. But, um...death isn't. Totally disrespectful post.
My apologies, I have a friend that was injured in the explosion. Sorry for the outrage.
I agree on the utter tastelessness of this article. And I'm not talking about the Slim Jims.
I don't know why everyone has jumped on the 'too light hearted' bandwagon. First of all, most consumerist stories are written like this. On the Daily Show, if/when this will be mentioned, it won't be a somber affair either - and no one will complain.
On top of your complaints, read the damn article without looking at the picture and there is no humor in it. It's just a funny picture, and I for one would prefer a funny picture over a logo, in fact the only picture that would be better is that of the factory in current condition.
The sub story here is how dangerous large scale food manufacturing is. There have been toxic ammonia leaks at two nearby meat processing plants recently. Tons of people in both cases ended up sent to the hospital. Nothing is ever mentioned about the meat in the plant when they have these ammonia gas leaks. I don't know if meat is then toxic after being exposed to what sent workers to the hospital.
@mac-phisto: "No Mr. Savage, don't touch that!" *BOOM*
Seriously, that would be the best commercial ever.
@MustyBuckets: Yeah, but this was a tragedy, and people died. Do you really want to mock that when people have lost family members?
It's the lighthearted, silly tone of the article in the context of a tragedy that has killed three people. Photo aside, the tone of the article is lighthearted, and extremely inappropriate considering the context.
@MustyBuckets: Check out some past Consumerist stories under this tage: [consumerist.com]
So many of these stories are well written and they don't go out of their way to make lighthearted jokes. Also check out the pictures. They actually fit the depth of the story.
ConAgra has responded by paying for funerals, setting up trust funds, and keeping people's pay checks coming, even though the factory is closed(see WRAL linked article).
This is the kind of corporate, "yes, we have a soul" that Consumerist usually lauds companies for.
Yes, locals were confused as to why so much ammonia was needed -- but that doesn't mean the continuing search and rescue effort (there's some cars trapped under beams and they don't know if there are bodies in them) should be treated so lightly.
Unlike posters above, I don't think the Daily Show would make fun of this kind of devastation, either. It's an industrial accident, like any other, just b/c the product is unusual doesn't make it any less tragic.
Conagra probably had all that ammonia for refrigeration. Ammonia is used quite often as the refrigerant in industrial cooling systems.
@Anathema777: Personally, I would have written about the tragedy in a much more serious light, and then extrapolated on the dangers of factory work and potential lack of oversight by highlighting the other factory leaks that has contributed to hazards in the workplace.
@pecan 3.14159265: Oh yeah. That's what I mean. It looks like there is an important consumerist angle to this story that got skipped over in favor of making a Sausage Road joke.
@MustyBuckets: I'm betting the Daily Show didn't joke about this or the Holocaust Museum shooting last night, because in fact, they actually don't tend to do their topical humor about tragic deaths of blameless people. And I don't know why you'd say there wouldn't be any complaints--they send them to the Daily Show or the FCC, they don't post 'em here, so the fact that that you didn't see any doesn't really mean much.
I agree this article is in bad taste. If a corporation released an article like this Consumerist would blast them, but somehow it's OK for them to do it.
Some above posters have mentioned problems about factory leaks etc. If they used a different picture and an tied the explosion into other factory problems they would have a basis of a story. Right now this is just garbage and I'm appalled about this.
@PunditGuy: Please -- if their life was working in a slim jim factory, they're in a better place now. Free from suffering, hardship, and most importantly, slim jims.
Honestly, no joke, they were probably sick and tired of seeing slim jims.
@atarisuicide: here's hoping s/he's ok. i understand where you're coming from & i sympathize; some of us have a morose sense of humor.
BAD JUDGMENT.
I won't be donating to consumerist.com again if I see stuff like this. I live outside of Raleigh and watched the local news as this was ongoing, in HORROR as they showed the walls blown out, fire, evacuations, etc.
If the factory made something you thought was higher end, would this even be here?
Everyone has made better points than I but as an area resident and donor to this site, I'm really disgusted with you today.
I work for ConAgra Foods Lamb-Weston here in Twin Falls Idaho and every body is now paranoid because the likely cause was a Boiler exploding... The plant here dates back to 1932 so there are a few things that are Really dated.
@mdmadph:
You know what, fuck you. I would just love to know about the awesome, society-improving career to which you have dedicated your piece-of-shit life. Honestly, no joke.
@Jesse: Correct at the Twin falls pant I personally know a few refrigeration employees and it's used to cool product and the plants rooms.
@mdmadph:
Oh, you are a apparently a 39 year old Domino web designer that spends his time making jokes about dead people on Consumerist. Nice to see that you have done so well with your life.
@MustyBuckets: The photo is wrong, the tone is wrong. People DIED.
Hey maybe they could have used the photos from the reunion point where people were waiting to see if their loved ones made it out ALIVE. Or maybe the HYSTERICAL line about the guy who was burnt horribly and had his severed hand lying on top of him on a gurney. The whole thing is just full of HUMOROUS antics to mention.
![[4.bp.blogspot.com]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__iHzedtY3VA/SKzRIoFXskI/AAAAAAAAAqs/pmdKS2VFx2E/s320/macho-man-randy-savage.jpg){kind=link}
god slim jims are terrible. Remember when they tried to market it as "beef jerky" yet its basically a sausage and NOTHING like beef jerky.
If you want a great tasting smoked sausage with a bite like Slim Jims, look for the polish sausage called Kabanosi