Firefighters, police and media crews evacuate the immediate area of the fire for a 1/2 mile zone amid fears that tanks of flammable materials including propane tanks, might explode. The massive fire at a chemical plant outside Atlanta on May 23, 2014, prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby businesses and spewed black plumes of smoke that were visible from miles away.MARIETTA, Ga. - Authorities say a massive fire at a chemical plant outside Atlanta that spewed black smoke and flames visible for miles has been extinguished.
Marietta Police Officer David Baldwin said in a statement that smoke from the fire that started about 8 p.m. Friday in a warehouse owned by AmRep was nontoxic and posed no threat to residential areas. The company website describes the warehouse about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta as a specialty chemical manufacturer and packager.
Baldwin says Marietta firefighters and three other departments extinguished the blaze around 4 a.m. No injuries were reported.
Baldwin says people were evacuated from nearby businesses and damage was reported to an adjacent business.
No cause has been determined. Baldwin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the investigation isn't expected to be completed Saturday.