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City leaders vow to help evacuated residents after fertilizer plant fire

Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo and City Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem D.D. Adams discuss updates on the plant fire at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant in Winston-Salem during a press conference on Thursday, February 3, 2022. KERI BROWN/WFDD

The evacuation order that was in place for residents within a one-mile radius of the fire at a Winston-Salem fertilizer plant has been lifted and now only impacts those in the immediate vicinity. Many residents there have been displaced for days. City officials pledge to find resources to support them, but details are thin.

Residents impacted by the blaze took to social media during Thursday's city press conference. Some said they have exhausted money for hotels and food and they're not sure where to go for help. Others worry about how long they can stay with friends or family.

The Red Cross has set up a local shelter for immediate assistance and has lots of space. The organization says 13 residents stayed overnight on Wednesday. It has since been scheduled to close as of Friday morning. 

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines recently announced that the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant is giving the city $100,000 to help displaced residents and businesses. But city leaders are still trying to figure out how to get it into people's hands.

A lot of people who live in the impacted area are people of color, primarily renters, and low-income.

City Council Member and Mayor Pro-Tem D.D. Adams represents the North Ward where the plant is located.

“My job is to go find out what are the funding mechanisms that are in place at the local level, the county level, the state level, and the federal level to ensure that the constituents and businesses are compensated or something, or to help them become whole again,” said Adams.

The Red Cross is working with other community groups and coordinating with local government officials to offer additional assistance.

The United Way of Forsyth County also released a list of local organizations that are working to help residents.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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