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Rockdale County chemical fire: Biolab has a history of fires at facility

By Scott Flynn, WSBTV.com
By Scott Flynn, WSBTV.com

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — What you need to know:

  • 17,000 people near the Biolab facility have been evacuated
  • Several schools, county offices and businesses are closed nearby
  • Fire started around 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning
  • Plumes of smoke still seen coming from facility
  • Roof of building has collapsed along with several walls
  • Unclear what chemical is still burning

Facility has a history of incidents:

Thousand of people remain evacuated from their homes after a chemical fire broke out Sunday morning at the Biolab facility on Old Covington Highway.

The building’s sprinkler system reacted with chemicals inside, sending potentially toxic fumes skyward.

Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDonald said they were forced to use water to put out the fire while knowing it would cause a continued chemical reaction.

She knows because she’s had to fight fires like this before at the exact same plant.

“I’ve been with the county for seven years, and this is probably the 3rd event of this magnitude,” McDonald said.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has sent a team from Washington, D.C. to investigate Biolab.

“We are sending investigators to  the site to determine the cause of this dangerous incident and the safety gaps at the facility that allowed this huge fire to occur.  Tens of thousands of people have been put potentially at risk by this catastrophe,” CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said.

Channel 2 Action News was there for the last major incident in 2020 when a similar situation forced Interstate 20 to close for six hours.

A later investigation found the water reacted with a compound used to create pool treatment products and released chlorine gas into the air.

“You can look at it, we don’t know what’s in those clouds,” a passerby said.

While officials would not confirm the source of the fumes, records show smoke from the plant forced similar evacuations in 2004 and Biolabs still specializes in swimming pool and spa water care.

Shelters:

Several shelters have been set up for those people evacuated over the chemical fire:

  • 2484 Bruce St., Lithonia, 30058
  • 218 Scout Road, Covington, 30016
  • 3375 E Fairview Rd SW, Stockbridge, 30281

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Impacting other communities:

Newton County says the plume of chemicals could shift northwest but as of right now there is no shelter-in-place for that county.

Schools in that county have been canceled for Monday because of the chemical fire.

“While we do not yet know how, or to what extent this incident will impact Newton County, out of an abundance of caution for the safety, health, and well-being of all students and staff, we have determined that the best course of action is to close all schools tomorrow, Monday, September 30,” the district said in a statement.

Evacuations and closures:

About 17,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes while the rest of the people living in Rockdale County have been ordered to shelter in place until at least midnight.

The sheriff’s office set up several evacuation sites: JP Carr Gym at 90 Hardin St SW, Scout Camp at 218 Scout Road in Covington and Wolverine Gym at 8134 Geiger Street in Covington.

The Rockdale County District Attorney says that her office and the Rockdale County Courthouse will be closed on Monday because of the fire.

As of 2 a.m. Monday, the roads closed include:

  • Iris Drive at McDaniel Mill Road
  • Sigman Road at I-20 East
  • Sigman Road at Old Covington Hwy
  • Sigman Road at General Arts
  • Sigman Road at Lester Road
  • Sigman Road at Farmer Road
  • Sigman Road at Irwin Bridge Road
  • Irwin Bridge Road at Main Street
  • Green Street at West Circle
  • Dogwood Drive at Motel 6
  • West Avenue at Dogwood Drive
  • Rockbridge Road at Main Street
  • Smyrna Road at Klondike Road
  • Sigman Road at Rockbridge Road
  • Iris Drive at Klondike Road
  • Iris Drive at Blacklawn Road
  • Hi-Roc Road at Carr Road
  • Plunkett Road at Lester Road
  • Bonds Lake Road at Irwin Bridge Road
  • I-20 East and West from Turner Hill Rd to Almon Rd

Businesses nearby worry:

The owner of Transmission King, Derrick Gibson, decided to shut down his business and go home Sunday as soon as he saw the flames.

“It’s very scary to see something like that,” Gibson said.

“It’s not healthy, it’s been burning for a minute. It’s not healthy,” said Derrick Wattenberger, who saw the smoke.

Once Gibson arrived at his shop, he quickly realized the smoke was coming from the Biolab located just across the interstate. He made the decision to shut down early.

“Shutting down today. It will stay shut down until they give us the green light that it’s OK. The air quality,” Gibson said.

He was uncertain about the situation as he drove to his shop but took immediate action upon arrival, recognizing the seriousness of the fire and smoke from the lab.

Reaction from Biolab:

Biolab released a statement that read:

“We are actively responding to an occurrence at our facility in Conyers, Georgia. Our employees are accounted for with no injuries reported. Our team is on the scene, working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation. As always, the safety of our community remains our top priority.”

Channel 2′s Michael Doudna contributed to this article.

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Rockdale County Chemical Fire: Business owners shut down over fire. ‘I don’t want to inhale it’

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