Weaver Fire News Today

Two-thirds of the city funding set aside to ease the financial burdens of the Winston Weaver Fertilizer plant fire was never distributed to residents. An update provided Wednesday at a community meeting marking the one-year anniversary of the fire raised questions about outreach efforts.  In the weeks after the crisis, $1 million was set aside to reimburse residents who were forced to cover the costs of the multi-day evacuation. The city of Winston-Salem chose the nonprofit Experiment in Self...

In the year since the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire, five lawsuits have been filed against the company alleging negligence. A lawyer representing one plaintiff says hopes of a class action suit are temporarily stalled. The suits allege that the Winston Weaver Company failed to safely store dangerous chemicals and did not follow industry rules designed to prevent and mitigate fires, among other things. 

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is recruiting participants for a study examining the health impacts of the Winston Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire, which forced mass evacuations in Winston-Salem nearly one year ago.  The study was prompted by concerns from residents about the fire’s physical and emotional health effects, according to Dr. Callie Brown, the study’s principal investigator. She and her colleagues attended several community meetings after the fire, and she says they found there w...

"If we had to do it all over again, we would've done a mandatory evacuation and we would have declared a state of emergency," fire Chief Trey Mayo said.

A recent study claims local officials and environmental agencies downplayed hazardous air conditions during the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire — and more should have been done to alert the public.

North Carolina environmental regulators recently approved the next step in the cleanup process at the former Weaver fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem. More testing will soon take place. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality recently approved a remedial investigation work plan for the Winston Weaver site. Montrose Engineering and Geology submitted the report on behalf of the plant.

The deadline to apply for reimbursement for expenses related to the Winston Weaver Company fire is this Thursday, even though a majority of allotted funding is still available.  Back in February, the city set aside $1 million to reimburse low-income residents who were forced to evacuate during the fire. About 70% of it remains unclaimed, according to the latest financial report received by city officials. 

City council met this week to once again discuss questions raised by the Winston Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire. The focus this time was on local building code, and how it could be changed to prevent similar accidents. Officials explained that Weaver repeatedly passed code inspections in part because the facility was held to lower standards. It was built in 1939, when sprinkler systems weren’t required, and there were no specific stipulations regarding hazardous materials.

Greater Winston-Salem Inc. has announced a grant program for small businesses that were affected by the Weaver plant fire earlier this year.

Small businesses affected by the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant fire are eligible for grants of up to $5,000, Greater Winston-Salem Inc. announced Tuesday.