Georgia county lifts shelter-in-place order after chemical plant fire

Rockdale County officials on Monday evening lifted the shelter-in-place order after air readings returned to normal levels. County facilities reopened Tuesday but schools in the nearby Newton County remained closed.

Original story: Officials in Rockdale County, Ga. on Monday indefinitely extended a shelter-in-place order as smoke continued to billow into the air of BioLab in the city of Conyers. About 17,000 other people, residents of Conyers, were evacuated on Sunday.

The fire broke out early Sunday morning on the roof of BioLab which is located about 25 miles southeast of Atlanta. Firefighters initially contained the blaze but it reignited hours later, according to a statement by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s office. Fire crews extinguished the fire around 4 p.m. Later, the roof and walls of the plant collapsed. Water from the sprinkler system mixed with a water-reactive chemical at the plant and caused a plume of chemicals to billow from the site, said Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel. It has not been clear what caused the fire. No injuries were reported.

What has BioLab said? The company was continuing to work with responders and local authorities, BioLab said in a Monday statement. It deployed specialized teams from out of state to the cleanup site with the priority of ensuring the community’s safety and remediating the situation as soon as possible.

How has the blaze affected surrounding communities? Air quality surveys conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division reportedly found chlorine gas emitting from the facility. Authorities ordered thousands of people in Conyers to evacuate and closed some roads. Both sides of Interstate Highway 20 reopened Monday after officials closed parts of the highway Sunday when changing wind patterns threatened to blow the irritants toward the road.

In Atlanta, emergency officials on Monday began investigating reports of haze and a strong chemical smell across Fulton County and Gwinnett County. Authorities advised people to stay inside, to close windows and doors, and to turn off heating and cooling systems.

Has this happened before? A fire broke out at the same location in September 2020 after strong winds from Hurricane Laura damaged the warehouse and allowed rainwater to mix with a chemical, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. A warehouse fire also occurred at the facility in 2004.