Industrial fire in Indiana forces thousands of evacuations: Here's everything we know
A massive industrial fire at a recycling facility in eastern Indiana sent a giant plume of toxic smoke billowing into the air on Tuesday, forcing evacuation orders for more than 2,000 people. Officials say they expect it to burn for days.
Here’s what we know so far.
How it unfolded
Fire crews responded to reports of black smoke rising from the former factory in Richmond, a city of about 35,000 located roughly 70 miles east of Indianapolis. When they arrived, they found a semitrailer behind one of the plant’s buildings filled with plastics and engulfed in flames.
The fire had spread to piles of plastics around the trailer and eventually to the other buildings, Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said at a news conference on Tuesday evening.
There were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, but Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said that smoke rising from the site was “definitely toxic.”
“There [are] a host of different chemicals that plastics give off when they’re on fire, and it’s concerning,” Jones said at the press briefing.
Massive smoke plume
Yahoo News partner USA Today reported that the clouds of black smoke were so high, they were visible on satellite radar.
“It is unknown what chemicals may or may not be in the debris,” the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management were also on-site “evaluating any potential hazards resulting from the fire,” Snow said.
“We know there are toxic entities when you burn plastics and other types of materials like this,” Snow said. “To what degree, that is what the EPA and IDEM are trying to evaluate now.”
Evacuations ordered for thousands
Officials issued an evacuation order for residents within a half-mile of the fire, or about 2,000 people, and authorities said that the parameters of the evacuation zone could change if the direction of the wind shifts.
A temporary shelter for displaced residents was established at Bethesda Worship Center in Richmond, USA Today reported.
Residents downwind of the evacuation zone were being encouraged to shelter in place and bring pets indoors.
“Turn off HVAC units, keep windows and doors closed, and bring pets inside until advised further,” the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency warned in an alert.
The Richmond Palladium-Item, the local newspaper and another Yahoo partner, reported that schools would be closed through at least Wednesday.
And Richmond Police Department Chief Mike Britt told the paper that residents in nearby towns should stay away.
“Please try to restrain yourself,” Britt said. “You shouldn’t have to get up close to this fire to see it. You can see it from several miles away. Bear in mind and have the common courtesy that, if you’re inside the hot zone and one of my people has to go in and get you out, that’s two people at risk. That’s how I view it, so please do us the courtesy of keeping a safe distance.”
Not if, but when
The fire occurred at a former factory site that was being used to store plastics and other materials for recycling or resale, according to the Associated Press.
And the mayor said that the owners of the property had been ordered to clean it up.
“They were under a city order to clean up and remediate that site,” Snow told AP. “We knew that was a fire hazard the way they were storing materials.”
Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said that the site owners had been cited multiple times and that six buildings on the property were full of plastic from “floor to ceiling, wall to wall.”
“It wasn’t if, it’s just when,” Brown said, according to WHIO-TV in nearby Dayton, Ohio.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Snow said that the owners will be responsible for any damages from the fire.
Shades of East Palestine
The towering smoke plume in another small Midwestern suburb quickly drew comparisons to the inferno sparked by the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment — followed by a controlled burn by authorities to avoid an explosion — created a fiery explosion that burned for days and forced residents to evacuate their homes.
The burning of some chemicals in the aftermath of the disaster — a decision made by authorities to avoid an explosion — is also complicating an already fraught situation that has sparked fears of potential health impact beyond eastern Ohio.
Five toxic chemicals were later identified around the derailment site, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and isobutylene, NBC News reported — raising major health concerns about long-term exposure and contamination.
And despite repeated assurances from state officials who said it was safe for residents to return to their homes, many locals continued to report rashes, headaches and difficulty breathing, as well as an odd smell in the air.
On Monday, USA Today reported that a tractor-trailer hauling 40,000 pounds of contaminated soil from the site of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment overturned on a highway, spilling toxic soil it was carrying spilled onto the roadway.
No one was hurt, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said the spill was "contained and not a threat to nearby waterways."
