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MONTGOMERY CITY, MO -- Update, April 20th at 4:05 p.m.:

Crews have cleared the scene of a grain elevator fire in Montgomery City, according to Montgomery County Emergency Management.

Emergency Director Bob Bishop said the evacuation order was lifted around 3:30 p.m., but said most people at city hall and other businesses had just gone home for the day.

Bishop said firefighters from two agencies worked for over three hours to put out the fire at the Purina Mills feed plant.

The fire started in the area of the receiving elevator leg, according to Jeanne Forbis, director of corporate communications of Land O' Lakes, which owns Purina.

"There were no injuries and there are no environmental or health risks related to the fire," Forbis wrote in a statement. "It is too early to determine the cause of the fire or estimate damages, but we do expect to be back in operation within a few days."

Forbis called the evacuation of the plant and nearby areas a "precaution".

Original Story:

Hundreds of elementary students in Montgomery City have been evacuated because of a fire at a nearby livestock feed company.

The fire started in a grain bin around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Purina Mills plant on North Walker Street.

Fire crews were initially able to douse the flames but the grain continued to smolder, according to Montgomery County Emergency Director Bob Bishop.

Bishop said firefighters and plant officials became concerned about the possibility of a dust explosion and ordered the evacuation of 2 city blocks in each direction.

A dust explosion can occur when dust particles in the air combust in an enclosed space.

Around 400 students were evacuated from the Montgomery County R-2 School.

Two daycare centers, city hall and numerous homes were also in the evacuation zone.

Firefighters from Montgomery City and nearby agencies continued pumping water on the fire during the afternoon and Bishop said he believed the threat of an explosion had diminished. 

Bishop said he did not know what kind of grain was inside grain bin. 

Phone calls were still being answered at the plant Wednesday afternoon but employees said they could not comment on the fire and directed questions to corporate headquarters.

A call to Land O' Lakes corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, which owns Purina Mills, was not returned by press time.

A dust explosion in 2008 at a Georgia sugar refinary killed 13 people and injured 42.