Posted on 04/12/2023 8:44:23 AM PDT by Red Badger
The order is expected to last through Tuesday night.
RICHMOND, Indiana (WXIX) - An evacuation order is in effect for eastern Indiana residents who live within a half-mile of a roaring industrial fire, according to Wayne County EMA.
The fire is in an industrial facility on NW F Street in Richmond, about 30 miles west of Dayton. [View on map]
The evacuation order came down just before 4 p.m. It remains active as of this writing.
An emergency shelter is set up for displaced residents. Residents outside the evacuation zone and those downwind of the fire are urged to shelter in place, turn off HVAC units, keep windows and doors closed and bring pets inside.
FOX59 in Indianapolis reports the facility is a former lawn mower manufacturer.
Richmond Mayor Dave Snow described the blaze as “a serious, large-scale” fire that has required a multi-agency response. “Please avoid this area if possible, as it is dangerous, and allow our first responders room to get this under control,” he said early Tuesday evening.
The mayor told our media partners at the Enquirer the blaze began after a tractor-trailer truck caught fire nearby.
Snow said at 7 p.m. the fire has been contained on three sides and that fire crews are working to prevent its spread.
The plume of dark smoke has risen high into the sky and can be seen for miles. Radar imagery showed the plume moving into Ohio almost immediately after the fire began.
The threat to public safety and the environment is unclear. U.S. EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management personnel are on-side evaluating any potential hazards from the fire.
“It may take them a while to complete their work,” Snow said. “Once we have a report to share, we will convey the information.”
A Wayne County EMA spokesperson tells us there is no danger of chemical runoff into the Richmond-area water supply, noting the substances are being “rerouted.”
The spokesperson says anyone downwind from the fire, even those in Ohio, should remain inside if they can smell the smoke. She added: “It’s not going to bother people unless they have a breathing condition.”
Preble County Emergency Management Agency Director Suzy Cottingim tells us the industrial plant is mainly used for recycling plastics. She says it doesn’t store the sort of chemicals in sufficient quantity to require Tier II reporting or be categorized as a hazmat facility.
Cottingim says she’s been in contact with the Ohio EMA. She says there’s “no indication” a shelter-in-place order will be needed in Ohio.
Tier II reporting requirements for hazardous and extremely hazardous substances are imposed by the U.S. EPA but may be modified by state law.
The EPA requires the disclosure of specific information from facilities that store these substances. The reports are used by emergency response personnel in developing response plans for incidents at those facilities.
We did bounce back from that but remember that congress was stuffed with patriotic WW2 veterans on both sides, not like today when it's filled with veterans of the gender pronoun wars who would sell their grandmas for some sweet sweet under the table cash. And then there's the whole FBI / CIA thing ... it sure seems bleak.
Don’t worry. Byedone will be there to calm people and promise help.
the blaze began after a tractor-trailer truck caught fire nearby.
= = =
Those pesky tractor-trailers.
Going around ‘catching’ fire.
Just exactly does that happen?
Diesel is hard to light.
Maybe the cargo was flammable, or still hot, like the coals in the wood stove ashes you put outside.
And what was the truck doing at a closed (I have read) facility?
I wonder what who could be causing that.....
Just a coincidence, I’m sure..................🤔
Yeah. Right. I really believe that.......
60 miles away and I can smell the burning plastic
Video from air here
https://rumble.com/v2hneu2-massive-fire-breaks-out-at-a-facility-in-richmond-indiana.html
The article says “industrial facility” but doesn’t mention name of company??
Truckers often sleep at closed facilities. DOT rules allow 11 hours of driving in a 14 hour maximum work day with a mandatory 10 hour break. You can imagine of the driver runs 9 hours, works ten then rests for ten, he’s not on a normal workday schedule.
One of my sons is a OTR trucker. He may have a 8am delivery time but arrives at the site the night before so he crawls into his sleeper to take the mandatory break.
Happens fairly regularly here. Spontaneous combustion I guess.
What makes these fire so tough to put out is that the “Pines’’ are nearly 100% pine trees loaded with naturally occurring ‘’pitch pine’’, turpentine actually. Damn things go up like a Roman Candle. If you've ever seen that amber colored, gooey sap at the end of a 2x4 that's it. Put a match to it and *presto*! It goes right up.
Bet that smell !
It's , some horese or chickens . It more resembles parts of the Carolina's I've seen or Georgia woodlands. Thankfully the volunteer firemen have done a great job containing the fire so there's been no loss of life and little property damage but, yeah , the smell.
It's like, warm and toasty. Kinda like a nice campfire, you know?
Break out a jug , a guitar and toast some marshmallows or something. LOL!
Sorry, meant to say ‘’it’s a rural area, folks have acres of property with horses and chickens’’.
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