A National Guard unit has been called on standby, and a military helicopter was hovering low, overhead at the scene. The plume stretches at least 15 miles from the plant, across Davenport, over the Mississippi River and over Moline and Rock Island. So far, no one in surrounding communities has been evacuated. At the plant, sunny, blue skies are nearly obliterated by deep black smoke. The smoke rises like a funnel cloud, churning on the plant's west side.
Intermittent flames shoot from the base of the funnel, spewing more smoke upward.
Firefighters from Davenport and several neighboring departments are on the scene, trucking in water to supplement the plant's own water system, which some firefighters say was not adequate to handle the blaze. The fire started around 7 a.m. at the lawn mower equipment distribution center, officials said. Twenty six employees were evacuated, said Mike Mangelsdorf, executive vice president of Quad-City Consolidation and Distribution. There appears to be no injuries, and it is unclear how the blaze started. The distribution center fills 450,000 square feet of the former Caterpillar plant, now called the River Cities Industrial Center, near Mt. Joy.