MOORESBORO, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say a fire at a zinc production plant in Mooresboro forced some residents to evacuate the area early Monday. The American Zinc Products plant was still burning around 5 a.m. The fire started Sunday night at the plant, which lies near the border between North and South Carolina. A fire at a zinc production plant in Mooresboro, N. C. Chesnee Community Fire Department Deputies went door-to-door warning people to evacuate as the burning plant released sulfuric acid into the air, and the county says about a half-mile area has been evacuated. Rutherford County Assistant Fire Marshal John Greenway tells news outlets that firefighters have been pulled away from the scene as their gear tested positive for hazardous materials. He says this is a cautionary measure until officials determine what chemicals they're dealing with.<doc-sep>Hide Transcript Show Transcript 8:00. OUR JOE RIPLEY IS LIVE IN RUTHERFORD COUNTY, WHERE NEARLY 50 FAMILIES ARE UNDER A MANDATORY EVACUATION. JOE: RIGHT NOW, WE ARE WORKING TO LEARN WHEN THIS MANDATORY EVACUATION WILL BE LIFTED. NO EMPLOYEES AT THE ZINC PLANT TODAY, AS OFFICIALS MAKE SURE THE AIR AROUND HERE IS CLEAN CHARRED REMAINS, BEEN DID, TWISTED METAL, ALL EVIDENCE OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE AT THE AMERICAN ZINC RECYCLING PLANT. >> IT WAS THE LARGEST FIRE I’VE SEEN IN MY LIFE. JOE: ROBERT CARNELL SAW, HEARD, AND SMELLED THE SMOKE SUNDAY NIGHT. >> YOU COULD BEGIN TO SMELL THE SMOKE AND SOME OF THE CHEMICALS IN THE AIR RIGHT HERE AROUND OUR HOUSE. JOE: THEN HE FOUND THE FLAMES. HE SAYS THAT’S ALL IT TOOK FOR HIM TO LEAVE. >> THE SMOKE WAS SO INTENSE AND THE FLAMES WERE COMING OVER THE TREES FROM PROBABLY ABOUT THREE MILES AWAY SO EXTREME, FIRE OFFICIALS SAID JOE: SEVERAL EXPLOSIONS WENT OFF AT THE ZINC PLANT. IT TOOK ABOUT ONE -- TOOK ABOUT 100 FIREFIGHTERS FROM MORE THAN A DOZEN DEPARTMENTS TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES AFTER BATTLING THE BLAZE OVERNIGHT AND MUCH OF THE DAY MONDAY. >> THERE WERE VERY INTENSE FLAMES. HOWEVER, IT WAS NOT THAT QUICKLY BY FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS. THE ONLY DAMAGES TO THE ORIGINATING STRUCTURE THAT THE FIRE STARTED IN. REPORTER: -- JOE: WITH THE FLAMES DOUSED, TOXIC SMOKE REMAINS A CONCERN. FIRE OFFICIALS PLACED A MANDATORY EVACUATION WITHIN A HALF MILE OF THE PLANT. THE EPA IS TESTING THE AIR AND SURROUNDING WATER SOURCES FOR SIGNS OF CONTAMINATION, WHILE INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER WHAT STARTED THE FIRE. OFFICIALS WILL LIFT THE EVACUATION ORDER ONLY IF TESTS COME BACK POSITIVE FOR CLEAN AIR AROUND HERE. MEANTIME, THE AMERICAN ZINC RECYCLING PLANT SAID IT WAS COOPERATING IN THE INVESTIGATION. JOE RIPLEY, WYFF NEWS 4, LIVE IN RUTHERFORD COU Advertisement Flames extinguished after WNC plant fire, toxic smoke forces mandatory evacuations, fire officials say More than dozen fire departments respond Share Shares Copy Link Copy An evacuation order has been lifted, two days after explosions and a fire at a zinc recycling plant in Mooresboro in Rutherford County, officials said.About 15 fire stations responded overnight Sunday to explosions and fire.Firefighters said the fire started around 8 p.m. at the American Zinc Recycling plant on Hicks Grove Road.By 9 a.m. Monday, Fire Marshal and Rutherford County Emergency Management Director Frankie Hamrick said the flames were 95% extinguished.Monday afternoon officials said the flames were extinguished. Hamrick said crews were no longer involved in active firefighter, rather they were monitoring the structure for possible flare-ups.Firefighters said initially there were 10 to 12 explosions at the plant.At one point, flames were 60 to 75 feet in the air, firefighters said.People living within a half-mile radius of the plant -- 48 families -- were evacuated early Monday because of poor air quality, according Hamrick. The evacuation order was lifted Tuesday, when air quality tests were approved.Around 10:45 p.m. Sunday crews at the scene said the fire on the top half of the plant was under control, but flames were still burning inside the plant, Ellenboro Fire Capt. Bill Greene said.No injuries were reported. Firefighters are still investigating what may have caused the fire.Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency were at the scene monitoring air and water quality. Those test result updates were expected later Monday, they said.The company had no immediate comment on the fire. Company officials issued this statement Monday: "We applaud the courageous efforts of the fire departments in fighting this blaze. They have successfully contained the fire, with no injuries to any of our employees, who have all been accounted for. We are cooperating fully with state and local authorities to investigate the causes of the fire. Our highest priority at all times is to protect the community, our employees and the environment and we are grateful to the quick action by the local first responders. We are unable to comment further at this time. "The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also at the scene of investigating the cause of the fire due to how large the fire was at the plant. Stay with WYFF News 4 to learn more information.<doc-sep>Fire crews had isolated the flames to one part of the facility, but were required to pull back after their equipment tested positive for hazardous materials, according to local news affiliate WSOC.<doc-sep>
Residents near a zinc processing plant in North Carolina were forced to evacuate early Monday morning after the facility caught fire. Flames broke out at the American Zinc Products facility, formerly known as Horse Head, in Mooresboro on Sunday night, near the state line between North and South Carolina. A few hours later, the emergency management agency for the surrounding Rutherford Count ordered evacuations for people living within a half-mile radius of the plant, as a cautionary measure, "due to the air quality." Rutherford County Assistant Fire Marshal John Greenway told ABC Asheville affiliate WLOS that firefighters were pulled away at one point while the blaze was still burning because their gear tested positive for hazardous materials. Images from the scene showed a large fire in a part of the facility, spewing billows of black smoke into the air. The fire was extinguished around 7:15 a.m. Monday morning. An investigation was underway to determine what ignited the flames. American Zinc Recycling, which owns the facility, said all employees have been accounted for and no one was injured in the fire. "We are cooperating fully with state and local authorities to investigate the causes of the fire," the company said in a statement to ABC News on Monday. "Our highest priority at all times is to protect the community, our employees and the environment and we are grateful to the quick action by the local first responders. We are unable to comment further at this time." ABC News' Rachel Katz contributed to this report.