NORTH CAROLINA (Washington Insider Magazine) – After a fire started out at a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, around 6,000 residents were forced to flee their houses for the risk of an explosion.
At a news conference early Tuesday morning, Winston-Salem Fire Department Battalion Chief Patrick Grubbs stated that the fire at the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer factory was still active as of roughly 4:30 a.m. ET.
According to a statement from the North Carolina prison system, about 220 minimum-security inmates have also been evacuated from Forsyth Correctional Center in Winston-Salem. The offenders were sent 60 miles away to a vacant minimum-custody facility.
According to NBC NEWS, the fire started on Monday evening. The cause of the fire remains unknown. As of Tuesday morning, no injuries had been recorded, according to Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo, who said the fire had been “relatively static” throughout.
However, because the location contains 600 tons of flammable ammonium nitrate, the potential of an explosion will continue until Wednesday, he warned.
According to Grubbs, the team battled the fire for 2 hours before it spread to a rail car.
“It became an explosive hazard” once the railway car was engaged, he claimed, with the possibility of an ammonium nitrate explosion.
Ammonium nitrate is a nitrogen-containing chemical compound used in fertilizers. However, it is also used to make explosives for mining.
According to Grubbs, this development led firemen to pull back, despite the fact that at least 90 firemen were involved in the endeavor.
He claimed that first responders had gone door-to-door telling homeowners to evacuate. Fire authorities were inspecting the scene every 15 to 20 minutes, he said.
Fire Chief Trey Mayo of the Winston-Salem Police Department issued another statement on Twitter, warning citizens not to expect something to happen.
Grubbs said he didn’t have a figure for refusals, so it was unknown if any local residents had chosen not to vacate their homes.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined by authorities. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said that its investigators would be supporting local firemen.
Image via Reuters
