An Agrium Inc. warehouse in Lynchburg, Va., was destroyed by fire Sunday, Jan. 13. The warehouse, a bagging and blending facility with a dry capacity of 9,000 st, was part of the Agrium Lynchburg Distribution Terminal. Built in 1905 and upgraded in the 1970s, it was a part of the Royster-Clark acquisition.
Agrium said some 3,500 st of material was in the warehouse at the time, and that some of it is salvageable. A spokesperson said as a blending facility it would have included all three major nutrients. No hazardous materials were involved, and there were no fears of an explosion. Agrium said the warehouse, while destroyed, was just one of seven buildings at the site.
Agrium gave no estimate of the cost of the damage, though the local media came up with a price tag of $2 million. An Agrium spokesman said that was likely putting a price tag of $400/st per ton on the blended fertilizer; as noted, some of that is expected to be salvaged.
The fire was still smoldering at mid-week. The National Response Team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was called in to assist local authorities in determining a cause for the blaze. Wintry weather across the region was expected to slow down the investigation and cleanup. State and local authorities have been monitoring the air and a local stream.