A fire was discovered in the seasoning area of Lodge’s 3rd Street Foundry in South Pittsburg, on Sunday at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Two team members on the scene reported the fire to the South Pittsburg Volunteer Fire Department and began fighting the fire with fire extinguishers.
The fire department responded promptly, and the fire was extinguished. The cause of the fire was a spontaneous combustion of filters used in the seasoning process. The fire caused minor damage to one of the company’s seven seasoning lines. One team member was treated for minor smoke inhalation, and he returned to work Sunday night.
Lodge officials said, "We commend our team members for quick and appropriate action when the fire was discovered. We thank the South Pittsburg Volunteer Fire Department for their response and professionalism. We invite everyone to attend to the National Cornbread Festival, April 28 and 29 and tour our new 3rd Street foundry."
Founded in 1896 By Joseph Lodge, Lodge Cast Iron is the oldest continuously operating cast iron cookware foundry and the oldest family-owned cookware company in the United States. Two descendants of Joseph Lodge serve on the company’s management team.