Lessons from 2006 Apex plant explosion could help with response to Winston-Salem fertilizer plant fire

By taking a look back at what happened in 2006, we could get an idea of the massive cleanup still ahead at the Weaver plant.

Some who lived in Apex in 2006 still have memories of evacuations and the massive emergency response.

"The town manager called me and said, 'We have a serious situation. There has been an explosion, and we are going to start evacuating,'" said Weatherly.

The Environmental Quality Industrial Services building on Investment Road was a fireball. There was a plume of smoke rising from the hazardous waste facility – and emergency workers could not be sure if it was dangerous. Around half the town was ordered to evacuate.

Weatherly’s own family was among the 17,000 evacuees.

"A lot of these places are just accidents waiting to happen," said Katie Craig, director of North Carolina Public Interest Research Group. "At the end of the day, we should not be storing and stockpiling chemicals in a way that causes a threat to human health, safety and our environment.”

Environmental tests taken during and after the evacuation showed no harmful effects from the smoke plume. Still, the company paid millions in a class action lawsuit.

“Our town was so thankful for the response of emergency workers," he said.

As part of an agreement with state regulators, Environmental Quality Industrial Services decided they would not rebuild their facility after that massive fire in Apex.