An uncontrolled fire at the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem continued to drive thousands of people away from their homes on Wednesday because of the potential for a massive explosion. Click the video player above for the latest updates from WXII 12 News “Yes Winston-Salem spokesman said in a press conference at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday there was no improvement on the scene. , conditions have not improved either, city officials said, adding that extinguishing the fire will continue to be a slow process, leaving within a mile of the plant, located north of Winston-Salem, bright orange flames could be seen and thick plumes of smoke were shooting into the sky.No injuries were reported. “We weren’t sure what it was. I opened the front door and the whole sky was nothing but orange. I could see flames shooting,” said Shepherd, who had been evacuated from her home near the factory. through the trees.” With 600 tons of flammable ammonium nitrate stored at the site, the risk of an explosion that will remain at least Wednesday remains and it remains unsafe for the team. firemen approach the scene. Authorities released the following update Wednesday morning about the massive fire and explosion risk at the Winston-Weaver fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem: “I’ve been in this business for 33 years and when I knew it, how much ammonium nitrate is on the site… I feel as insecure about a fire scene as I have felt in my 33 years of working in the field,” said Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo. with reporters on Tuesday. The Winston-Salem Fire Department said most of them were located just outside the evacuation zone, had canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, and urged students in dormitories to stay indoors. window. 90 firefighters battled the blaze for about 90 minutes after it was discovered at a dock around 7 p.m. Monday, but the danger of an explosion forced them to retreat, Mayo said. The fire quickly consumed the entire building and collapsed. An unmanned fire truck was left behind to continue pumping water up part of the area, the sheriff added. An estimated 500 tons of ammonium nitrate were located at the plant and another 100 tons of fertilizer ingredients were located in an adjoining carriage. It was more chemicals, he said, than was present in a deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant explosion in Texas in 2013 that killed 15 people. Don’t know how else to put that,” he said. Mayo said chemicals generally need to be in a confined space to explode, so the risk will depend on whether the material gets deep enough for the top layers to apply enough pressure. Authorities warned of smoke and poor air quality in the city of about 250,000 people. Matthew Smith, a regional state task force hazardous materials expert, said the gas escaping from the blaze was more of an irritant than something that could cause serious harm, except for one underlying condition of the lungs. Third that no workers were injured or killed in the explosion. It thanks firefighters and first responders. without a car, said he had called the non-emergency police number to request a ride to a shelter and was waiting to be picked up. He say. “They said that it is likely that if it blows away, the evacuation area will be completely leveled. I’m not even a quarter mile away. “Norvell McDowell, who lives less than half a mile away, was awoken early Tuesday morning by sirens and first responders asking him to seek shelter elsewhere. The 68-year-old amputee man using a wheelchair said he was aware of the fire before going to bed, but did not know the urgency of the situation. He was taken to a shelter opened at Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. “We woke up around 3:30 and they walked through the parking lot with the sirens on,” McDowell said. phone app to listen to emergency scanner traffic and hear firefighters talk about giving up their equipment. “That’s when I started thinking we needed to evacuate,” she said, adding that several hours passed as she and her partner debated whether to relocate. “All Shepherd said. “I said, ‘You know what? I won’t even stand a chance. We need to go. “Associated Press contributed to this report
An uncontrolled fire at the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem continued to drive thousands of people away from their homes on Wednesday because of the risk of a large explosion.
Click the video player above for the latest updates from WXII 12 News
A spokesman for Winston-Salem said in a press conference at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday: “There is no improvement at the scene, nor are conditions improving. “The explosive potential is still there.”
City officials added that they hope that putting out the fire will continue to be a slow process.
After the fire broke out Monday night, authorities drove through residential areas and knocked on doors urging residents to leave the factory within a mile, located north of Winston-Salem.
Bright orange flames and dense plumes of smoke could be seen shooting up into the sky. No injuries have been reported.
“We heard an explosion. It shook our house,” said Michelle Shepherd, who evacuated her home near the factory. “We’re not sure what that is. I opened the front door and the whole sky was nothing but orange. I could see flames shooting through the trees. ”
With 600 tons of flammable ammonium nitrate stored at the site, the risk of an explosion will remain until at least Wednesday.
In an early morning update Wednesday, city officials said that an explosion risk remained and that the fire crew’s access to the scene remained unsafe. The one-mile evacuation route is still highly recommended.
Authorities issued the following update Wednesday morning on the massive fire and explosion risk at the Winston-Weaver fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem:
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“I’ve been in this business for 33 years and when I found out about the ammonium nitrate levels on the website… I felt as insecure at the scene of the fire as I’ve felt in 33 years in this business,” Winston said. -Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo told reporters Tuesday.
Wake Forest University, most of which is located just outside the evacuation zone, canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday and urged students in dormitories to stay indoors with windows closed.
The area includes about 6,500 people in 2,500 homes, the Winston-Salem Fire Department said.
At least 90 firefighters battled the blaze for about 90 minutes after it was discovered at a dock around 7 p.m. Monday, but the risk of an explosion forced them to retreat, Mayo said. . The fire quickly consumed the entire building and collapsed. An unmanned fire truck was left behind to continue pumping water onto part of the scene.
Drones and a helicopter monitored the fire from above, and crews of firefighters are on standby to let the blaze burn now, the sheriff said.
Mayo told reporters an estimated 500 tons of ammonium nitrate are located at the plant and another 100 tons of fertilizer ingredients are located in an adjacent train carriage. He said it was more chemicals than there was in a deadly explosion at a 2013 Texas fertilizer plant explosion killed 15 people.
“So if that doesn’t convey the gravity of the situation and how serious people need to handle it, then I don’t know how else to put it,” he said.
Mayo says chemicals generally need to be in a confined space to explode, so the risk will depend on whether the material is stacked deep enough that the top layers can exert enough pressure on the elements. bottom layer or not.
Authorities warned of smoke and poor air quality in the city of about 250,000 people. Matthew Smith, a hazardous materials expert with the regional state task force, said the gas escaping from the fire was more of an irritant than something that could cause serious harm, except for latent lung.
A representative for the Winston Weaver plant released a statement on Tuesday that no workers were injured or killed in the explosion. It thanks the firefighters and first responders.
Richard Van Erp, who lives on the block from the fertilizer plant, said late Tuesday morning that there was so much smoke in the parking lot of his apartment complex that he couldn’t see cars.
Van Erp, who doesn’t have a car, said he called the non-emergency police number to request a ride to a shelter and was waiting to be picked up.
“I must be terrified, and I would say I am pretty shaken right now,” he said. “They said that it is likely that if it blows away, the evacuation area will be completely leveled. I’m not even a quarter mile away. ”
Norvell McDowell, who lives less than half a mile away, was awoken early Tuesday morning by sirens and first responders telling him to seek shelter elsewhere. The 68-year-old amputee man using a wheelchair said he was aware of the fire before going to bed, but did not know the urgency of the situation. He was taken to a shelter opened at Winston-Salem Fairgrounds.
“We woke up around 3:30 and they walked through the parking lot with the sirens on,” McDowell said.
Shepherd, the evacuee who felt her house shake, said she used a phone app to listen to emergency scanner traffic and hear firefighters talking about giving up the device their.
“That’s when I started thinking we needed to evacuate,” she said, adding that several hours passed as she and her partner debated whether to relocate.
“Suddenly, there were three more explosions, almost consistently, and we could feel the house turning to stone,” Shepherd said. “I said, ‘You know what? I won’t even stand a chance. We need to go.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
