Richmond County firefighters and employees from Superior Crane Inc. in Rockingham have been dispatched to a peanut plant warehouse fire in Northampton County which has been smoldering for several weeks.

While 21 million pounds of peanuts roast inside the warehouse after the supply ignited on Aug. 11, firefighters from both North Carolina and Virginia are keeping the blaze under control.

The peanut plant, located in Severn, a small town near the Virginia border, has been burning since Aug. 11 and all 21 million pounds of peanuts have been feeding the fire.

The incident has been under control until Aug. 29 when the warehouse dome collapsed on itself, dispersing a plume of debris and smoke in all directions, according to Jim Henry, on-site project manager from Superior Crane said.

“We went in after the top blew off of it,” Henry said.

The debris left from the explosion covered the 5,000 tractor trailer loads of peanuts inside the warehouse, according to Henry.

Between 35 and 40 Richmond County volunteers and employees from Superior Crane packed their equipment, which included two cranes, several tractor trailers and water tanks, and headed to Severn to assist authorities already on-scene.

“People heard we’ll do just about anything,” Henry said. “We’re known for doing hard jobs.”

After the warehouse roof burst and caved in on itself, Superior Crane needed to use its two heavy-duty cranes to remove debris, concrete slabs and rebar from the rubble left after the explosion.

“It could have been pressure,” Henry said. “But we don’t know for sure what caused the fire and what combustibles were inside.”

Superior Crane has been assisting authorities with containing the fire for weeks and expect to be out there at least two more, according to Joe Everett, owner of Superior Crane.

Water tanks brought to the Severn Peanut Plant have dispersed several thousand gallons of water on the warehouse in order to contain the fire.

Crews on the scene are working in 24-hour shifts assisting local authorities in removing the burning peanuts and drowning the flames.

According to Henry, close to half of the peanuts have already been removed, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be finished.

“We haven’t slowed down yet,” Henry said.

There are currently no injuries reported and authorities and volunteers are working around the clock to have the fire out as soon as possible.