Chemical Fire at DHM Adhesives Mill Forces EvacuationsChemical Fire at DHM Adhesives Mill Forces Evacuations
September 13, 2019

A chemical fire broke out at the DHM Adhesives mill in Calhoun, GA in the early hours of Friday morning, injuring one person and forcing officials to order partial evacuations for the area, local news organizations reported.
Crews responded to the Wall Street facility at about 1:20 a.m., and arrived at the scene to find most of the structure involved in flames, according to coverage by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We got reports from some workers that there was a small explosion inside the structure,” Calhoun Fire Deputy Chief Terry Mills said to a Journal-Constitution reporter. “We felt like that helped spread the fire faster than it should have spread.”
Ten workers were reportedly present inside of the mill when the blaze was sparked. One of them was injured during the incident. Amid concerns of air quality issues, local schools were closed on Friday and some residents living near the mill were ordered to evacuate. It is currently unclear whether or not the burning material poses a risk to the public or not.
“We’re not sure what’s in the structure at this time. We don’t have the MSDS [Material Safety Data Sheet] sheets from inside. The company is trying to get us those from their computer records,” Deputy Chief Mills told the Gordon Gazette in an interview. “I just know that they made adhesives and there was pretty flammable material inside.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) are responding to the site.
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