I-20 closed, 17,000 in evacuation zone, residents shelter in place

What you need to know:

• About 17,000 people were evacuated around the Biolab facility.

• I-20 was closed between Salem Road and Turner Hill Road.

• Schools in Newton County will be closed Monday due to a chemical fire.

• Rockdale schools are closed this week, 12-month employees will work remotely.

• Smoke could be visible for several days.

• EPA and EPD are both on site to assess the situation.

• The fire started around 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

• The sprinkler system reacted with a chemical in the factory.

• The roof of the building and several walls collapsed.

• Piedmont Rockdale has housed some patients and others in emergency shelters.

What happened:

All Rockdale County residents have been ordered to shelter in place after a chemical fire broke out at the Biolab facility on Old Covington Highway.

It all started around 5:30 a.m. Sunday when the sprinkler system malfunctioned, apparently mixing with a chemical and forming a cloud. You can see the smoke rising for miles into the sky, changing color throughout the day, from black, white, red and now to a yellowish hue Channel 2’s Michael Doudna on Sunday evening.

Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control on Sunday morning, but it flared up again around 12:15 p.m

Officials say the fire has now been extinguished, but the building itself has collapsed.

“The roof and several walls have completely collapsed, so we have been trying to put everything together and move it away to create a better path to transport the product,” said Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel.

Officials stress that people should take this seriously.

“If the cloud starts, it could become very dangerous and toxic. “So until we get those readings from EPA and EPD, we don’t know what these clouds are made of, so we want to make sure everyone stays safe and stays away from it as much as possible,” said Rockdale Emergency Management Director Sharon Webb County.

Evacuations and closures:

About 17,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes, while the rest of those living in Rockdale County were ordered to shelter in place until at least midnight.

The sheriff’s office set up several evacuation sites: JP Carr Gym at 90 Hardin St SW, Scout Camp at 218 Scout Road in Covington and Wolverine Gym at 8134 Geiger Street in Covington.

The Rockdale County District Attorney said her office and the Rockdale County Courthouse will be closed Monday due to the fire.

Roads closed include:

• Rockdale Industrial

• Old Covington to Sigman Rd.

• Covington to 2nd St.

• Lester Rd. to Sigman Rd.

• Farmer Road. from Sigman Rd. to Rockdale Industrial

• Rockbridge from Sigman Rd. to Main St.

Some patients at Piedmont Rockdale Hospital were transferred.

“They have also started transferring patients to other facilities as a precautionary measure. They are not closed, just precautions are being taken to keep patients safe. And they are there for anyone who has an emergency or medical emergency. We encourage you to visit an area hospital in another county,” said Sharon Webb, Rockdale County EMA Director.

Reaction from Biolab:

Biolab released a statement that read:

“We are actively responding to an incident at our facility in Conyers, Georgia. No injuries were reported for our employees. Our team is on scene and working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation. As always, the safety of our community remains our top priority.”

Past incidents:

Unfortunately, you are aware of the problems in this work. Channel 2 action news has identified at least two incidents in the last 20 years that resulted in evacuations and/or road closures at the plant.

In a 2020 incident at the same location, the problem was a chemical commonly used to make swimming pool cleaning products that can produce fumes when in contact with water.

We are working to determine if this is the same issue this time.

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