Storage Fire Overwhelms South Carolina Plastics Plant

Firefighting operations continued into the evening Monday at a South Carolina plastics plant that burned most of day in Chester County, local media report.

As of Monday night, four firefighters have been treated for heat exhaustion while a fifth suffered an minor injury.

The fire broke out before dawn at the Carolina Poly plant between Rock Hill and Columbia in the north part of the state. It involved raw plastics and truck tires kept in a scrapyard near the storage area of the plant.

Flames did not reach the plant building itself, officials said.

Mutual aid from fire departments as far away as North Carolina responded to the scene. Firefighters used a bulldozer to cut a firebreak to keep the blaze from reaching the woods nearby.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control advised anyone who could smell smoke or notice an unusual odor to temporarily leave the vicinity. People with pre-existing lung or heart disease are at a higher risk from breathing small particles in the smoke.

However, the Chester County Sheriff’s Office advised nearby residents to shelter-in-place.

At the height of the emergency more than 60 firefighters from as far as North Carolina responded to the fire scene. Although contained by 5 p.m., firefighters continued to deal with fire burning inside the fire breaks.