APEX, N.C.-
Authorities asked about 16,000 residents to evacuate this Raleigh suburb early Friday after a hazardous material fire at an industrial plant. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Officials said the fire started around 10 p.m. Thursday at EQ Industrial Services, a hazardous waste business that town manager Bruce Radford said had a variety of volatile chemicals inside, including chlorine.
He said when he arrived at the scene, a chlorine cloud rose 50 feet in the air. He estimated that 20 to 30 explosions had occurred at the plant.
“This is truly awful,” he said early Friday. “It is the worst potential hazardous materials fire that you can expect.”
Several thousand people were evacuated, and others were told to remain in their homes. The town issued a mandatory evacuation for anyone who lived within one mile of the business.
Radford said some residents who live near the fire had not heeded the evacuation order and were walking on the streets near the fire. He begged them to get away from what he called a “black, smokey cloud” that was covering downtown Apex.
“They are taking their own lives at risk,” Radford said. “They are putting themselves in very grave danger by being around this smoke. If you see this smoke, get away from it.”
The Web site for EQ Industrial Services says the company operates a fleet of specialized industrial cleaning equipment to deal with both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.
Apex is a city of about 28,000 near Raleigh.
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