RICHMOND, Ind. — A fire that started Tuesday afternoon continues to burn in Richmond, forcing about 2,000 people to evacuate their homes.
CNN reported that the fire is expected to burn for days as thick, black smoke continues to pour out of the site, officials said.
The former factory has been used to house plastics and other materials that were going to be recycled or sold, The Associated Press reported.
“They were under a city order to clean up and remediate that site,” Richmond Mayor Dave Snow told the AP. “We knew that was a fire hazard the way they were storing materials.”
Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said fire crews were expecting a fire at the location, WHIO reported.
“It wasn’t if, it’s just when,” Brown said, adding that the six buildings on the property were full of plastic from “floor to ceiling, wall to wall.”
The owner had been cited because the property was deemed unsafe.
It is believed the blaze started in a tractor-trailer — one of several full of plastic— that was parked on the property.
Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said that the smoke is “definitely toxic.”
“There is a host of different chemicals that plastics give off when they’re on fire, and it’s concerning,” Jones said during a Tuesday afternoon briefing, according to CNN.
As of Wednesday morning, the evacuation order only covers people within a half-mile of the site but it could be changed if winds shift.
Some of the smoke did get blown into Ohio, the AP reported.
People who are currently downwind from the blaze are encouraged to shelter in place and bring pets inside. If anyone finds debris that has fallen in their yards, authorities asked that they not touch what they find.
“It is unknown what chemicals may or may not be in the debris,” Wayne County Emergency Management Officials said, according to CNN.
