Thousands of North Carolina residents have evacuated their homes after a fire broke out inside a fertilizer plant Monday (January 31) night, leading to fears of an imminent explosion.
Around 7 p.m. Monday, a fire was reported at the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem, blazing through the night and into the Tuesday morning where it was still considered active around 4:30 a.m. No injuries have been reported, per WRAL.
According to Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo, the plant contains an estimated 5,000 tons of finished fertilizer and 500 tons of ammonium nitrate, while an additional 100 tons of the latter in a rail car near the facility. Ammonium nitrate is used to make fertilizer and explosives, leading to fear of a possible explosion at the plant. However, the chemical compound does dissolve in water, per WFMY.
Because of the hazardous materials, along with the smoke filling the air, everyone living within a 1-mile radius of the plant have been evacuated until at least Wednesday while emergency crews allow the fire to burn.
Battalion chief Patrick Grubbs, a 15-year veteran with the Winston-Salem Fire Department, provided an update on the blaze early Tuesday morning.
"We're asking everyone to stay out of this area and evacuate the scene," said Grubbs, adding that more than 6,000 residents live in the 1-mile evacuation radius of the plant.
On Monday night, firefighters battled the flames until the heat grew too close to the rail car, leading officials to pull back crews for their own safety. Officials continue to monitor the fire via drones while a single unmanned fire engine is spraying water at the scene.
People near the plant fire are asked to stay indoors to avoid the poor air quality, especially if the have respiratory conditions. As of 9 a.m., officials continue to monitor to fire and air quality, which have reached 65 parts per million of the chemicals, the news outlet reports. If the air worsens to 100 parts per million, it could lead to immediate danger or death.
As of Tuesday morning, the cause of the fire is unknown.