At 11:30 p.m. on a February Saturday, a spark in a second-floor office ignited a crisis that would test House of Raeford Farms to its core. Within minutes, flames consumed their Wallace, North Carolina processing plant. As dawn broke, 600 rural employees faced unemployment, a community stood in shock, and company leadership confronted the most challenging moment in their history.
While 30 emergency response teams battled the blaze, House of Raeford made two immediate, critical commitments: continuing to pay affected employees and rebuilding the plant.
“Even before the fire was completely extinguished, we knew our responsibility extended far beyond the physical building,” noted company leadership.
The rural community buzzed with uncertainty. Would jobs return? How had this happened? Was everyone safe?
E&V, the company’s crisis communications partner, immediately activated their crisis response plan. By 9 a.m. Sunday — mere hours after the fire began — they issued a holding statement, preventing information gaps that could spark public unrest and media speculation.
The crisis team crafted a two-pronged approach: external transparency through a Monday news conference and internal support through personal calls to all 675 affected employees.
E&V monitored developments constantly, distributing verified information to media outlets before rumors could take hold. This deliberate strategy shifted the narrative from reactive damage control to proactive community leadership.
The communications team maintained regular contact with House of Raeford executives, adapting their approach as new developments emerged and ensuring consistent messaging across all channels.
The impact was immediate and measurable. Facebook engagement skyrocketed — likes increased by 5,066% following the first statement, with daily engagement jumping 6,883%. Within a month, the page gained more than 1,100 new followers.
Industry publication headlines told the story: “House of Raeford exceeds expectations with fire updates.”
The company became the trusted information source for employees, community members, and media outlets alike. Through real-time monitoring and responding to public questions, they maintained control of their narrative throughout the crisis.
What began as a potential catastrophe transformed House of Raeford into a stronger, more respected brand — proving that how a company responds to crisis often matters more than the crisis itself.
