WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Many people in Winston-Salem went to bed Monday night worried about the fire at the Weaver Fertilizer plant including John Webster.
Webster is a co-owner of Webster Brothers Hardware store. The family-owned business has been buying fertilizer for years from Weaver.
"Its been a long-standing relationship and with a lot of different people that have worked there," Webster said, "I'm almost 60 years old and I bought fertilizer there when I was 16."
Webster said when his daughter called him to tell him the news last night, it was quite a surprise. He said he figured it was something small, but after seeing video of the fire, he realized it didn't look good.
"It was heartbreaking. We've been here so long and developed relationships with people like that, and its always been an easy relationship and you always bought purchased, everything was always there, everything always worked like it was supposed to, and over time its like their family to me," Webster said.
Webster said one of his daughters even named her cat, Weaver, after the plant.
They hope they can still do business with them.
"Just thankful no one was hurt and it was something that happened at night when no one was there. It will definitely be hard to replace a manufacturing facility like that, but people are irreplaceable and no one was hurt or anything worse," Webster said.