A fire on Jan. 31 at the Winston Weaver fertilizer terminal on the north side of Winston-Salem, N.C., completely destroyed the facility and prompted a three-day evacuation order for residents and businesses within a one-mile radius of the plant due to concerns about a possible explosion triggered by ammonium nitrate stored at the site.
The fire was first reported by a passerby at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 31. According to city officials, only one of the plant’s 36 employees was onsite at the time of the 911 call, and all employees were safe and accounted for.
Firefighters fought the blaze for 90 minutes before pulling back from the site after they observed what they believed was off-gassing from a railcar onsite that contained 90 tons of ammonium nitrate. The 65,423-square-foot warehouse at the facility, which was engulfed in flames, reportedly contained another 500 tons of ammonium nitrate, as well as a reported 5,000 tons of finished fertilizer products.
The City of Winston-Salem then issued one-mile evacuation zone around Weaver’s 4440 North Cherry Street address, affecting almost 6,500 residents, or 2,497 households. “Don’t wait for something to happen,” the city posted on Twitter. “Something has happened. Now is the time to get out.” Residents were reportedly alerted through a reverse 911 call, as well as from public address systems on fire trucks navigating roads within the evacuation zone.
The evacuation order also affected nearby Wake Forest University, which cancelled classes on Feb. 1 and then extended the cancellation to Feb. 2-3 after authorities continued to warn of a possible explosion as the fire burned itself out. More than 200 minimum security inmates at the Forsyth Correctional Center were evacuated as well.
“Ammonium nitrate has a history of being unpredictable in the way that it reacts to heat, the way that it responds to pressure, to shock. It is sort of an enigma, and we are giving it due regard because of its history,” said Winston-Salem Fire Chief William “Trey” Mayo at a press conference on Feb. 2. “At the beginning of this incident, there was enough ammonium nitrate on hand for this to be one of the worst explosions in U.S. history.”
Mayo said 90 firefighters and approximately 150 personnel from other agencies responded to the blaze, including hazmat teams to monitor air quality. The 8.46-acre site belched thick smoke throughout Feb. 1-2 as authorities used an unmanned ladder truck to pump water on the site and employed drones and helicopters to monitor the smoldering fire. Representatives from some 25 local, state, and federal agencies were reportedly onsite to monitor events.
While an initial estimate suggested the evacuation order would be reevaluated in 36-48 hours, Mayo on Feb. 2 said the city would maintain a “firm stance” on the one-mile evacuation radius for an “undetermined time.” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was also on hand for a press briefing on Feb. 2.
A weather change on Feb. 2-3 brought rain and colder temperatures to the Winston-Salem area, however, which helped extinguish the flames and lower the danger of a potential explosion. At midday on Feb. 3, Mayo told reporters that the risk of an explosion had “greatly diminished,” and firefighters working in groups of 12 and wearing protective gear were beginning to work at the site.
Helmet-cam footage from one of the firefighters showed charred rubble, twisted wreckage, and an utterly gutted facility, with little evidence of any remaining fertilizer products. Mayo said discussions were underway on how to safely remove the railcar, but crews were able to inspect the car and observed that the ammonium nitrate inside was “dry, white, and granular, as we expect it to be,” he said.
At 4:44 p.m. on Feb. 3, the city announced that the evacuation order would be reduced to a radius of 660 feet as of 8 p.m. that evening. With no houses located within the reduced zone, the Winston-Salem Journal reported that all residents would be allowed to return to their homes.
Winston Weaver is owned by Meherrin Fertilizer Inc., Four Oaks, N.C. Meherrin’s website lists the Winston Weaver facility as one of approximately two dozen terminals operated by the company in the Eastern U.S. The website describes Winston Weaver as a manufacturer of Weaver Ammoniated Fertilizer and a handler of potash, DAP, K-Mag, and blended fertilizer.
Winston Weaver’s website said the company was founded in 1929 and the plant was built in 1939, officially opening for business in January 1940. The list of bagged fertilizer products sold under the Weaver brand include 34-0-0 for lawn and gardens, 27-4-7 slow-release fertilizer, pelletized limestone, and “all purpose” plant food products sold in 8-8-8, 10-10-10, 13-13-13, and 17-17-17 blends. Local news reports said the company is a bagged fertilizer supplier for Lowe’s home-improvement stores throughout the Southeast.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Attempts by Green Markets to reach Meherrin Fertilizer or Winston Weaver for comment were unsuccessful. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that the facility passed a fire inspection as recently as December 2021, with no hazards or violations reported. Mayo said the building was not equipped with fire sprinklers.
Winston Weaver announced that it is contributing $100,000 to help the city recover from the fire. Company representative Andrew Carroll spoke with reporters on Feb. 1, confirming the safety of all 36 employees and the company’s commitment to their security. “We’re going to continue to take care of them,” he said.
“In the next few days, we’re going to stay here and work with the EMS first responders, working closely every hour,” he added. “We have people on the grounds here with EMS, trying to explain exactly what’s where in the plant and just be as much help and provide as much information as we can. We will continue to work with the community and the people who have been displaced. That’s our number one goal, which is to take those who have been displaced and get them back in their homes as fast as possible.”
Carroll spoke with reporters again on Feb. 3. “We met with all 36 employees today, and we’re going to pay those employees for a month,” he said, noting that some had been with the company for more than 30 years. “And we’re helping them get jobs. Some of them have already been placed in jobs with other industries similar to Winston Weaver. We’re just going to work with them and do the best we can to support them.”
Carroll also expressed gratitude to the company’s customers, suppliers, and competitors for offers of help and support. “The support that we felt from our customers, our suppliers, and even our competition has really showed us how much of a family-owned business this feels like, and how much support that we do have in the community,” he said.
The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), which was hosting its Annual Business Conference in Orlando, Fla., when news of the fire broke, issued a statement on Feb. 2 saying its “thoughts and prayers are with the citizens and first responders” in Winston-Salem.
Kathy Mathers, TFI Vice President, Public Affairs, told Green Markets that the trade association had been “facilitating the sharing of industry technical expertise on ammonium nitrate with local emergency responders” in Winston-Salem. “We are fortunate to have members who have been quite generous in this regard,” she said.
“Different members of our team have been in almost constant contact with the folks at Weaver to help share any and all information that may be helpful,” added Jason Troendle, TFI’s Director, Market Intelligence and Research.
The August 2020 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, and the deadly 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion in West, Texas, were front and center in the minds of emergency responders in Winston-Salem.
“The quantity of ammonium nitrate they had on hand (in Texas) was 240 tons. When this fire began last night, we had 600 tons on site,” Mayo said. “So, if that doesn’t convey the gravity of this situation and how serious folks need to take it, I don’t know how else to verbalize that.”