2 April, 2013
Gastonia, NC (April 2, 2013) -- Last night, EQ Industrial Services' facility in Apex, North Carolina, broke out in explosions and fires, forcing the evacuation of 17,000 local residents. EQIS, based in Wayne, Michigan, operates a number of facilities around the country that dispose of, recycle, and transport hazardous chemical wastes.
A fire did break out at 10 p.m. last night and no one was at the facility at the time. Special industrial firefighters hired by EQIS have already brought the fire under control. Residents in the immediate area however, were evacuated as a precaution and should be able to return to their homes tomorrow, pending permission by local authorities. Several dozen residents were admitted to local hospitals with complaints of breathing problems, but many have been released already; about a dozen emergency responders were treated as well.
Because of the diverse nature of the materials stored at the plant, the cause of the fire is not yet know. Rumors that the facility stores extremely dangerous chlorine gas and that the fire was spreading to other local nearby businesses are NOT true. At this point (Friday afternoon), tests conducted by the North Carolina State Department of Environment and Natural Resources "had not detected anything out of the ordinary in the air."
We apologize for the inconvenience and we will do everything we can to try and prevent this from happening again in the future. We are working hard to find the cause of the fire and will notify residents as soon as we do.
Posted by: Taylor Phillips
For more information about our company please visit www.eqonline.com.
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