Winston-Salem firefighters Thursday reentered the site of a fertilizer plant fire after being virtually shut out of the site for more than two days because of explosion risk.
The fire broke out about 7 o’clock Monday at the Weaver Fertilizer factory at 4440 North Cherry Street. At least 90 firefighters attacked the fire for about two hours before it became clear they had to back away because they were not able to keep the fire from ammonium nitrate at the facility.
The 600 tons of ammonium nitrate posed a significant risk of explosion. Overnight the fire department kept hoses positioned at the fire scene to cool the burning areas, and Thursday they determined that he cooling efforts had worked adequately to allow firefighters to safely reenter the plant site.
Additionally, enough of the ammonium nitrate was destroyed by fire to render the fire site safe enough for work to proceed. Helmet cam footage from the first firefighters to return to the site revealed the condition of the facility’s remains.
Now the department begins the process of uncovering the remaining pockets of fire and extinguishing them. The department expects it to be a slow process, as care must still be used to protect against explosions.
During the fire, thousands of people were asked to evacuate their homes. Once the air quality at the fire site is deemed safe, the evacuation will be lifted.
