WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A massive fire tore through a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem Monday night and continued to burn into Tuesday.
The fire a the plant forced thousands of people to evacuate, but what is Weaver Fertilizer?
The Weaver Fertilizer Plant or Winston Weaver Company, Inc. was founded in 1929 in Norfolk, Virginia by A. W. Weaver as the Weaver Fertilizer Company, according to its website.
For more than 80 years, the business has been in the Triad. The Winston-Salem plant was built in 1939 and opened in January 1940. The plant located at 4440 North Cherry Street, makes fertilizers and plant food that is sold at Lowe’s stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and North and South Carolinas.
Fire officials said no employees were in the building when the fire started. at the time of the fire.
Anyone within a mile of the plant was urged to evacuate over concern of explosion. Fire officials said the plant stores about 300 to 600 tons of ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate is highly combustible and produces toxic oxides of nitrogen when it burns, according to the National Institute of health. It's often used to make fertilizers and explosives, as a freezing mixture, matches, pyrotechnics (fireworks), and as a nutrient in producing antibiotics and yeast.
Evacuees should expect to be away for 36 to 48 hours, officials said.
It is not yet known what caused the fire.