Date: January 31, 2022
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina (USA)
Address: 4440 Cherry Street, 27105
Type: Potential Dust Explosion
Fuel: Unknown
Industry: Fertilizer Production
Equipment: Unknown
Company: Winston Weaver Company
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to its website, Winston Weaver Company is a specialty fertilizer company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was founded in 1929 in Norfolk, Virginia, as Weaver Fertilizer Company. The Winston-Salem plant was built in 1939 and opened for business in January of 1940. Products include fertilizer and plant food.
Incident Description:
On February 1, 2022, ABC News reported an explosion and fire at a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Bright orange flames and thick plumes of smoke could be seen shooting into the sky. Firefighters fought the fire for about 90 minutes after it was discovered at a loading dock around 7:00 p.m., but the threat of an explosion made them retreat. As the fire consumed the building, it collapsed. An unmanned fire truck was left behind to pump water onto part of the site.
Although the city fire chief confirmed that the fire was “relatively static” overnight, 600 tons of combustible ammonium nitrate remained at the site, increasing the risk of an explosion. Authorities drove through neighbourhoods and knocked on doors urging residents to leave within a one-mile radius of the fertilizer plant. A nearby university cancelled classes.
No injuries were reported.
Sources:
ABC News
