A fire inside a tank of liquid asphalt at a facility in Madison, North Carolina, on Tuesday prompted officials to evacuate residents from the nearby area as firefighters determine how to extinguish the flames.
The fire broke out inside a 17,000-gallon tank that was filled with about 11,500 gallons of liquid asphalt at SealMaster on West Decatur Street, the Madison Fire Department told reporters.
"We have an evacuation zone right now of 1,000 feet in all directions and everybody within a half a mile is sheltering in place," Madison Fire Chief Jim Ritchey said.
Ritchey said that firefighters tried using Purple K, a dry chemical substance, to put out the fire but it did not work. He said that firefighters don’t want to add water or air into the tank at this time.
NYC FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE FIVE-ALARM FIRE STARTED BY E-BIKE BATTERY
Power has been cut to the tank to cool the liquid asphalt so that the product hardens, and officials are monitoring a nearby tank.
The chief said the fire was "semi-stable" but officials are trying to figure out why it is increasing in temperature.
FIERY MARYLAND TANK TRUCK CRASH KILLS DRIVER, DAMAGES THREE NEARBY HOMES
Officials are also trying to determine if there is a possibility for an explosion, according to Ritchey, and firefighters were pulled back from the potential "blast zone."
Officials were in contact with the producers of the asphalt, who are based in Canada, to determine the best method to put out the fire.
Air monitoring is also in place for a half-mile area, officials said.
