More than 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate Tuesday afternoon when a massive fire broke out at an Indiana recycling factory, spewing plumes of black smoke into the sky.
The fire started in Richmond, which is roughly 70 miles east of Indianapolis and near the western border of Ohio.
Unidentified plastics filled the factory
According to Richmond Fire Department Chief Tim Brown, the Hoffco facility was fully laden with an unknown sort of plastics when the fire moved from the semi-trailer to other stacks of plastics surrounding the trailer.
There was only one access route to the area where the fire was, and all of the other access roads were blocked by large heaps of plastic and semi-trailers.
When the fire became out of hand and the sky darkened, they retreated quickly and went into defense mode.
A firefighter who arrived at the incident damaged his ankle after falling down a gully. He was treated at a nearby hospital and was later released.
The fire was discovered just after 2 pm according to Brown and has subsequently been contained. The fire is expected to burn for several days, according to Jones, who also verified that air monitoring is being conducted.
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Toxicity of the smoke
Indiana State Fire Marshall Steve Jones called the smoke “definitely toxic” and cautioned citizens not to breathe it in.
Those residing within a half-mile of the factory were advised to leave. Residents living outside the evacuation zone who live downwind of the fire were advised to shelter in place, switch off any heating or air conditioning, bring pets inside, and close all doors and windows. Jones cautioned that evacuation and shelter-in-place orders could alter as the wind direction changes.