North Carolina fire: Thousands evacuated over explosion fears after blaze at fertiliser plant

Thousands of people have been evacuated over fears of an explosion following a fire at a fertiliser plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

As many as 6,500 residents were told to flee their homes following the blaze, which broke out on Monday evening.

The cause of the fire is as yet unknown, but Winston-Salem Fire Department battalion chief Patrick Grubbs said residents had been evacuated after the blaze spread to a rail car – prompting fears about an explosion involving ammonium nitrate.

The chemical compound is used for manufacturing both fertiliser and explosives, and a blast can be triggered by heat.

That prompted fears of further damage at the facility owned by Winston Weaver Co, a fertiliser supplier, although no injuries have been reported so far.

Winston-Salem fire chief Trey Mayo said her force “abandoned the fire fighting operation because there’s a large volume of ammonium nitrate on site”.

“We could not flow enough volume of water into the area where that ammonium nitrate is stored to be reasonably certain that we could keep it cool enough to prevent a detonation.”

Parts of a building were said to have collapsed and as much as 300 and 600 tons of the chemical compound is thought to be stored at the plant.

A similar blaze at a fertiliser plant in Texas in 2013 caused an explosion involving 240 tons of ammonium nitrate.

Almost 2.5000 homes have been evacuated in a one mile radius of the plant on 4440 North Cherry Street, roughly four miles north of downtown Winston-Salem.

Residents are expected to be able to return home after 48 hours, and a shelter has been set up at a building on Deacon Boulevard, the police department said.

Additional reporting by Reuters.