Fire Damages Universal Facility in Dominican

A fire broke out Sept. 2 at Inetab-Kaubeck, Universal Corp.’s leaf-sorting and sales facility in Moca, Dominican Republic.

In a letter sent to Universal clients obtained by Halfwheel, Inetab-Kaubeck Managing Director Philipp Schumacher said that there was “a material loss of tobacco and one part of the warehouse affected.”

The letter states that staff were not on-site at the time of the fire, and no lives were lost. It does not list the cause of the fire.

Video of the fire showed a large warehouse that appeared to still have tobacco in it, but images shared with Halfwheel show a mostly empty building with remnants of tobacco on the floor and tables as well as char marks around the walls and standing water on the floor. 

In a subsequent video, Henderson Ventura of Tabacalera William Ventura and ADV & McKay Cigars Co. said that it is one of eight buildings at Inetab-Kaubeck and one that focused on Connecticut broadleaf and Pennsylvania tobaccos.

“We thank all emergency services present and [e]specially the fire departments from Moca and multiple other locations in the Cibao area for their assistance to the fire,” said Schumacher. “Thanks to their tireless efforts, it was controlled swiftly.”