Enfield Police Chief Eddie Buffaloe said the call was received shortly after 9 p.m. Friday. When firefighters arrived they found an office building at Halifax Fertilizer on Dennis Street engulfed and the fire spreading to warehouses containing potash.
No one was injured and some 20 residents along Dennis Street were evacuated. They were allowed back in their homes around midnight.
Buffaloe said the fire spread quickly and firefighters from Enfield, as well as Whitakers and Halifax were called to the scene. “It looks to me, based on my estimation and observation, that it was totaled.”
Halifax EMS and North Carolina Emergency Management maintained a command post just outside the damaged area.
At the scene firefighters observed the damaged and many places at the business still had hotspots. “The next step is to maintain and control it throughout the night,” Buffaloe said.
The Enfield fire department will handle the initial investigation. “It's too soon to say what caused it,” the police chief said, “Whether it was foul pay, electrical or whatever.”
Firefighters had the blaze under control in about two hours.
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