North Carolina Fertilizer Plant Engulfed by Fire Risks Explosion

(Bloomberg) -- There's still a risk of an explosion at a North Carolina fertilizer plant that makes a highly flammable type of nutrient following a fire that forced thousands of local residents to flee.

Winston Weaver Co.'s Winston-Salem plant, which makes ammonium nitrate, caught fire Monday night. It has about 5,000 tons of finished fertilizer and 500 tons of the chemical compound inside. That's the type behind deadly explosions in recent years, including a 2020 blast that devastated Beirut's port and more than the amount when a Texas plant exploded in 2013, killing 15 people and damaging more than 150 structures across a 35-block area.

About 6,000 people living within a mile of the plant were told to evacuate. Authorities drove across neighborhoods knocking on doors to urge households to leave as the incident sent flames and smoke plumes into the sky, the Associated Press said. The fire consumed the whole building and it collapsed.

“We have at least three times as much product on hand here as they had in west Texas,” fire chief Trey Mayo said Tuesday at a news conference. “I don't know how much more compelling I can be to try to make people understand the seriousness of this situation.”

The Winston-Salem facility also has 100 tons of ammonia nitrate in a rail car beside the building, Mayo said. 

Conditions haven't improved, with the situation unsafe for crews to battle the fire, Bobby Wade, division chief at the local fire department, said at a briefing early Wednesday. The risk of a blast remains and there's no timeline yet for when people can return.

Fertilizer Crisis

While the U.S. fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate market is relatively small -- accounting for about 3% of total domestic nitrogen consumption, according to Bloomberg's Green Markets -- it comes at a tumultuous time for the market. Nutrient prices have surged to records around the world following an energy crunch that curbed production in Europe, while fertilizer supplies also face threats from export curbs and trade sanctions.

That's adding to costs for farmers and prompting some to curb fertilizer usage, threatening to curb crop yields and further raise food prices.

The Winston-Salem situation is expected to go well beyond 36 hours so the chemicals can cool down, the city's fire department said earlier. Officials want it to burn through all the material and run out of fuel, Mayo said. Wake Forest University, which is mostly outside of the evacuation area, canceled classes and asked students to stay in dormitories, the AP said.

Winston Weaver company representative Andrew Carroll said in a video statement that all employees are safe and the organization will continue to work with first responders.

The federal Chemical Safety Board hasn't dispatched anyone, but is following up on the event, spokeswoman Hillary Cohen said. The North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Division sent workers to the scene Tuesday. 

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said that the evacuation order will probably be maintained for a while, given concerns about noxious air and fumes coming from the site.

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