A fire broke out at the chemical plant, BioLab in Conyers, Georgia, on Sunday, September 29, 2024, forcing people to evacuate from the area.
According to NBC News, the officials ordered the residents of the entire Rockdale County of Georgia to evacuate because of the chemical release in the fire. The local officials announced that although the fire is contained, the chemical smoke will be visible in the air for days.
As per the county officials’ website, the blaze broke out on the roof of the chemical plant at around 5 a.m. ET. after a malfunctioned sprinkler head “came in contact with a water-reactive chemical and produced a plume causing a mixture with a water-reactive chemical.”
The Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel told reporters in the afternoon news conference, “We’ve been firefighting with water, but the water is also aggravating the chemical."
McDaniel explained, “We’ll tell people to... keep your doors and windows closed,” McDaniel said. “Any event, the wind shift, this thing can change really quickly."
Moreover, the director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency, Sharon Webb, said that roads are closed in the area, and the around 17,000 residents in between the Sigman Road and Interstate 20 were asked to evacuate.
