The Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal has determined the cause of the Azure Standard headquarters building fire to be an accident, rather than an act of arson. According to a press release from Azure Standard, the fire was related to a tote of rolled corn being temporarily stored in a cooler due to oversupply at the company’s warehouse.
According to the fire marshal, the fire could’ve started one of two ways: The corn could’ve started smoldering on its own due to moisture content, causing it to combust, or the tote or dust from the corn could’ve come into contact with an electrical outlet, causing it to short and igniting the corn.
Azure Standard has already located a space for a new facility, according to the press release. The company will be moving their liquid manufacturing to a space eight miles from the old headquarter location, which they hope to have up and running within the next week.
In the release, CEO David Stelzer said there will likely be shortages of products for the time being, but suppliers were working on helping them restock as quickly as possible. Initially, it was identified that the only groups affected were liquids, fruit packing and carob products. As it is not yet fruit harvest season, this would not be immediately impacted. With the liquid manufacturing expected to be back up within the next week, the only thing left in flux is the carob candy, which Stelzer said they are working to get back online as soon as possible.
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