Residents near Warsaw Chemical were asked to evacuate this morning by Warsaw Police after a possible chemical fire at the business. Warsaw Wayne Fire Territory was called to the fire shortly after 11 a.m. Possible explosions were reported. At 11:42 a.m., police called for residents within 1,000 feet north and east of Warsaw Chemical to evacuate. Emergency personnel were evacuating residences and businesses within the evacuation area. Roads in the area were completely closed and motorists were told to avoid the area. Dan Roberts, in charge of maintenance for Warsaw Chemical, said there was one worker inside the building at the time of the fire, but he made it out safely. “It feels like they cut my left arm off,” Roberts said. Warsaw Chemical Supervisor Mike Ball said many precautions were taken to keep the building safe. He said there is no electricity and the 21-year-old building isn’t heated. “A lot of precautions were taken,” Ball said. “We never had issues, and never thought we would.” Calls for assistance were made to area fire departments, including the St. Joe Hazmat team. There was a list of chemicals inside the building, but the major concerns were hexane and heptane due to their flammability. WPD Public Information Officer Kip Shuter said all of the east and west roads including Hendrix, Jefferson, Market, Winona and McKinley to Adams were all closed because of the chemicals and smoke.
