The blaze occurred at around 11pm on Thursday night [November 14] at Devenish's distribution centre in Duncrue Street, Belfast.
The NI Fire and Rescue Service, in a statement issue on Friday, said its fire crews responded quickly to the incident and their early actions prevented fire spread to three adjoining businesses.
When they arrived late on Thursday night, firefighters said they were confronted by a blaze in the storage unit containing animal feed.
The NI Fire Service said its firefighters worked tirelessly throughout the night of the fire in difficult conditions, and that, at the height of the incident, a total of 13 fire appliances and more than 60 fire personnel were involved at the scene.
The high rack shelving and roof in the premises collapsed.
The NI Fire Service advised the public to keep their windows closed and avoid the area if possible.
It said the cause of the fire has been determined as accidental.
Devenish, in a statement sent to us this morning, said no employees were inside the building at the time of the blaze. The company said the fire has not impacted production at its separate mill facility, which continues to operate as normal.
“At this stage, the NI Fire and Rescue Service are still handling the situation and we are taking their lead as to how the premises need to be handled. We are continuing to update our employees as the situation develops."
Blaze at Cargill facility
Meanwhile, in the US, a fire also broke out on Friday in a hopper at a Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health facility in Temple, Texas, according to local media reports.
The 15 workers at the facility escaped without injury.
Firefighters responded immediately and the fire was declared under control one hour later.
Cargill announced earlier this month that it had opened a $34m expansion of the facility, which employs 26, has the capacity to produce nearly 500,000 tons of bag and bulk animal feed a year.
