“Threat” of a fire to people in Richmond
On Tuesday afternoon, a huge fire broke out at a recycling plant in Richmond, Indiana. Black smoke filled the air, and more than 2,000 people had to leave their homes.
The fire broke out in the city of Richmond, which is about 70 miles east of Indianapolis and near the western border of Ohio.
During the fire at the recycling plant, plastics were among the things that were burned. As a result, a thick, dark plume of smoke could be seen coming from the site.
CNN says that Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said at a news conference that the smoke was definitely dangerous.
Jones was reported by CNN as saying, “Plastics give off a lot of different chemicals when they catch fire. This is scary, and we want to make sure people know they need to leave.”
People living within 0.5 miles of the fire were told to leave their homes. Indiana State Police confirmed that the fire happened at the old Hoffco plant, which stopped making things in 2009.
The Wayne County Emergency Management Agency said that people who live within half a mile of the fire must leave. Those who live outside the evacuation zone were told to close their windows and keep their pets inside.
Fox News said that Richmond Mayor Dave Snow called it a “serious, large-scale fire.”
“Many units are on the scene,” Snow was reported to have said. “Please stay away from this dangerous area if you can, and give our first responders time to get things under control.”
“The smoke is definitely toxic,” the Indiana State Fire Marshall told Fox 59.
“This fire is going to burn for a few days,” he said.
AP said that some people who had to leave their homes were given temporary housing at the Bethesda Worship Centre, and other groups were making plans for hotels in case people needed to stay there.
On Tuesday night, Mayor Snow said that the firefighters had put out the fire on the northwest side of the city and were now working to stop the fire from spreading on the east side. At the time, we didn’t have any more information.