The Hamlet plant had three previous fires, but no action was taken to prevent recurrence or to unlock the doors. The building had fires before Imperial took over as well, although these, too, were non-fatal. The Imperial plant at Cumming, Georgia, had two major fires, one of which, in 1989, caused $1.2 million () worth of damage. The Hamlet plant had no fire alarm system to warn workers farther back in the plant, and there were no sprinklers in the building.