Emergency officials from Adams and York counties on Monday morning continued to urge residents and workers to remain indoors as they continued to battle a blaze that destroyed a residential fertilizer plant in Conewago Township, just outside Hanover.
The fire at Miller Chemical and Fertilizer Corp., on Radio Road, broke out just before 3:30 a.m. and continued to smoulder and spew black smoke by midmorning. Gusty winds at times spread the black smoke across this largely rural area. The smoke could be seen from miles away.
John Eline, Adams Co. Director of Emergency Services, said officials continued to monitor the air, but that no toxins had been detected.
In a mid-morning press conference, Eline said firefighters had stopped using water to douse the fire, concerned with the volume of water used earlier on. He said emergency officials had built a damn to contain the water runoff from the operation. He said officials had some concerns that the water could be toxic and they wanted to protect public water.
Adams County Chemical Plant FireAn early Monday morning blaze destroyed the Miller Chemical and Fertilizer Corp. warehouse in Conewago Township., just outside Hanover, York County.Ivey DeJesus/PennLive
Eline said, that despite the heavy black smoke that continued to smoulder from the collapsed building, the air contained irritants but nothing toxic that had been detected.
He asked residents and local business workers – especially anyone with chronic lung conditions – to stay indoors.
Officials say the fire began shortly before 3:30 a.m. with a large explosion – followed by several subsequent explosions. Fire officials responded to an automatic fire alarm.
Fire Chief Tom Lawrence said no one was in the building at the time. No injuries had been reported.