3/23/22

A massive fire blazed through the night at the Pepsi plant in Piscataway last night. Huge black plumes of smoke could be seen pouring out of the building from miles away.

Courtesy of The Sun

Explosions could be heard throughout the evening, however, it seems that they were caused mainly by CO2 tanks used to carbonize the products. The explosions caused debris to be thrown into the air.

Firefighters from across the state, more than 100, responded to the massive blaze. By 10:30 p.m. they had most of the fire under control. Crews stayed on scene to ensure that hotspots did not flare up.

Crews battled the flames for hours. Courtesy of USA Today

It isn’t clear what sparked the fire, but Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler said that it started outside of the building. Thankfully, all employees were evacuated safely and without injury.

The site is a regional production and distribution center for PepsiCo. It focuses mainly on the production of Mountain Dew, Aquafina, and various iced teas.

It remains to be seen whether or not the damage will have an effect on distribution.

It also remains to be seen what will happen in the short-term to all the awestruck employees that stood on the curb watching their job go up in flames.