Indiana recycling plant fire: More than 2,000 residents evacuated due to 'toxic smoke'

Officials say facility used for recycling and storing plastic and other material

Smoke rises from the industrial fire in Richmond, Indiana. AP

More than 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate a kilometre-wide area of eastern Indiana on Wednesday after a fire broke out at a recycling plant, pumping acrid black smoke into the air.

An evacuation order was issued for residents of the town of Richmond — about 50km from Dayton, Ohio — after the fire erupted at the plant on Tuesday afternoon.

Plastics were among the items burning at the plant, officials said.

“The smoke is definitely toxic,” Steve Jones, the Indiana state fire marshal on scene, told Fox 59.

Those outside of the evacuation zone were told to shelter in place, turn off their HVAC systems, close all doors and windows, and keep their pets inside, according to the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency.

The White House said President Joe Biden had spoken with Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to share "full support and any additional federal assistance needed".

It also said that the Environmental Protection Agency has sent federal personnel to help with air monitoring and emergency response.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known and likely will not be known until after the fire has been fully extinguished, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the recycling facility to find a semi-trailer behind one of the plant’s buildings engulfed in flames, Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said.

Richmond Mayor Dave Snow told Fox 59 the facility was used for recycling and storing plastic and other material.

The trailer was loaded with an “unknown type of plastics” and the fire spread to other piles of plastics around the trailer before spreading to the building, Chief Brown said.

The fire, which Mr Snow described as “serious” and “large scale”, was mostly contained by Tuesday evening.

Local residents took to Twitter to post photos of the fire, which could be seen from many kilometres away.

Richmond Police Department Chief Mike Britt said it was “impossible to tell” if the evacuation orders were completely effective, but officers were on the ground ensuring people were safe.

Chief Britt called the situation “a huge public hazard”.

“We’ve had quite the problem with bystanders moving in close to the fire,” he said. “This has been an explosion hazard since the first flames. We’ve had numerous explosions.”

The fire comes after dozens of train cars belonging to the Norfolk Southern railway company derailed on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on February 3, spilling toxic chemicals on the ground nearby.

Thousands were evacuated as officials assessed the damage. They later opted to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from the tanker cars, sending flames and black smoke billowing into the sky.

Since then, residents have reported diverse health problems, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimated that about 45,000 fish, crayfish, amphibians and other species were killed within an 8km radius of the crash.

Agencies contributed to this report