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Some residents of Conyers, Georgia were forced to evacuate their homes on Sunday as officials scrambled to control a fire that reignited at a nearby chemical plant.
Around 5 a.m. on Sunday, a sprinkler at a BioLab plant malfunctioned which caused water to spray onto a chemical and form a large reaction. As a result, a massive dark smoke plume could be seen in the sky over the city.
The malfunction also caused a small fire to start on the roof, but it was later contained.
Hours later, the fire reignited prompting officials to implement an evacuation order for residents close to the plant. BioLab is a company that produces pool chemicals, according to its website.
The Rockdale County Animal Services also asked residents within the evacuation area to bring their animals along with them.
Officials in Rockdale County said they had implored “all hands on deck” to control the fire at the BioLab plant. Multiple roads were closed for the safety of residences.
Other residents of Conyer were asked to shelter in place until at least 8 pm, with videos circulating on social media showing gigantic clouds of smoke visible from nearby Interstate-20, which had been blocked off between Salem Road and Turner Hill on Sunday afternoon.
During a press conference, Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett told residents that it was “not the time to do any type of sightseeing.”
“We are strongly encouraging everyone, no matter where you’re coming from, but especially Rockdale residents, to stay out of this area for the safety of yourself, and for the safety of all personnel that are out here already that have to work this type of incident,” Levett said.
A spokesperson for BioLab told Fox News that the company was “actively responding” to the situation.
“Our employees are accounted for with no injuries reported,” the spokesperson said.
“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.”
