Fire at the Kelly Turkeys Processing Plant

On 21 June 2015, a serious fire broke out at our turkey processing plant at Little Claydons Farm in Howe Green, near Chelmsford, Essex. The blaze began shortly before 9am and required six fire crews to attend. As the building became unstable, firefighters had to withdraw and tackle the fire from height. No turkeys were believed to have been inside the building at the time. The fire destroyed the original processing plant, creating an immediate challenge: the facility had to be rebuilt and licensed in time for the year's Thanksgiving and Christmas production. Paul Kelly committed publicly that we would be ready for Christmas, and drew up a week-by-week reconstruction programme. Contractors and others who offered their help after the fire played an important part in getting the operation back on schedule. By November, the replacement plant had received its Food Standards Agency licence. Built on the original footprint, it incorporated changes to improve workflow and a larger overnight cooling room. Processing for Thanksgiving and Christmas could therefore begin as planned. Our own history records the recovery as taking 18 weeks from the fire, reflecting an intensive rebuilding effort during one of the most important periods in our production calendar.