WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A massive fire tore through a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem Monday night and continues to burn, forcing thousands to evacuate.
The Weaver Fertilizer Plant or Winston Weaver Company, Inc. is located on North Cherry Street. The company makes fertilizers and plant food that is sold at Lowe’s stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and North and South Carolinas.
Winston-Salem Fire Chief William “Trey” Mayo said the company was inspected in December and passed. No problems were discovered at the plant. He also said the 80-year-old building was "grandfathered in" to certain code requirements it no longer meets.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality said the company wasn't on their radar until Monday night because the chemicals used are not considered hazardous by the department. They're safe when handling them under normal conditions. It's only when the chemicals get really hot - like if the building is on fire - that there could be a problem.
In fact, the only problems with inspections found were from a workplace safety issue with OSHA, according to 2 Wants To Know. In 2014, a worker was on the roof doing repairs when he fell through to the floor. The company was fined about $9,000. The company hasn’t had any problems since then.
Weaver is one of almost 500 plants licensed by the Department of Agriculture to make fertilizer in North Carolina. It's one of the biggest.
A Weaver Fertilizer Spokesperson genuinely expressed concern about the well-being of the community.
"We will continue to work with the community and the people who have been displaced," Andrew Carroll said. "That's our number one goal is to take those who've been displaced and get them back to their homes as soon as possible. The biggest challenge ahead right now is keeping them safe and worried about their jobs and taking care of them," Carroll said.
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The Weaver Fertilizer company said all 36 people who work at the plant are safe. They’re working with EMS and first responders while trying to explain to them what’s in the building and provide as much information as possible.
Mayo said crews estimate 500 tons of ammonium nitrate inside the plant, another 100 tons inside a rail car close to the facility, and 5,000 tons of finished fertilizer. Ammonium nitrate is a chemical used to make fertilizer.
The plant was built in 1939 and opened in January 1940.