Eltopia fertilizer fire releases toxic smoke, forces brief evacuation

It's still unclear what sparked the chemical fire at an Eltopia fertilizer plant early Wednesday that sent toxic smoke pouring from the roof of building, said fire officials.

About 40 people living and working in the rural area were advised to evacuate until the fire could be controlled.

Officials were concerned the smoke could cause problems for the young, elderly and people with respiratory issues, said Franklin County Sheriff's Sgt. Gordon Thomasson.

The unincorporated farming community of about 800 is 15 miles north of Pasco, off Highway 395.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at 6:04 a.m. after an alarm sounded in a storage building at the McGregor Company fertilizer plant, said Franklin County Fire District 5 Chief Bryan Thornhill.

Inside, crews found 6- to 8-inch blue flames coming from a 58-ton pile of sulfur-based fertilizer inside a 60- by 80-foot concrete warehouse, said fire Chief Mike Harris, with Franklin County Fire District 3, which helped with the incident.

They used dry chemical extinguishers to put out the fire and to keep the fertilizer from spreading outside the building, Thornhill said.

The monitored the warehouse for another couple hours and aired it out before turning it back over to the company about noon.

No one was hurt, officials said.

McGregor Company, a Colfax-based company, stores fertilizer for use on farms, Harris said.

The Washington State Department of Ecology and Department of Agriculture were notified, but no investigation is planned, officials said.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Eltopia fertilizer fire releases toxic smoke, forces brief evacuation."