Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their small town on Tuesday after a large fire engulfed a Richmond, Indiana recycling plant. Officials say the fire could burn for days.
The fire department arrived to find a semi-trailer full of “unknown type of plastics” on fire, according toRichmond Fire Chief Tim Brown. Soon the fire spread to other trailers and then the building.
The fire is emitting a large plume of black smoke which forced an evacuation for all residents living within a half mile of the plant, according to a statement from theWayne County Emergency Management Agency.
The smoke is “definitely toxic,” Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said in a news briefing on Tuesday.
“There is a host of different chemicals that plastics give off when they’re on fire, and it’s concerning and we want to make sure we give people heads-up on an evacuation,” Jones added. Though they have the fire under control, Jones said they expect it to burn for several days.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Residents that live outside the evacuation zone but are still downwind of the fire were told to shelter in place, “keeping windows and doors closed, turning off HVAC units if they draw outside air, and keeping pets inside,” per the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency.
The Indiana recycling plant fire.Kevin Shook/Global Media Enterprise
TheRichmond Community School Districtcanceled all classes and activities on Wednesday due to the fire, according to their website.
Any residents that find debris in their yard are asked “not disturb or touch the debris” because it is “unknown what chemicals may or may not be in the debris,” Wayne County Emergency Management Agency officials said.
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“It’s probably the largest fire I’ve seen in my career,” Brown said.A firefighter fell and hurt his ankle,CNNreported, but no other injuries have been reported and everyone in the plant has been accounted for.
source: people.com
