‘Just one big, bad disaster;’ Residents searching for answers after massive fire in Richmond

People had to leave their homes behind after a large industrial fire sent clouds of smoke into their neighborhoods Tuesday afternoon.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Richmond firefighters were called to NW F Street after dispatchers received multiple calls about large pillars of black smoke coming from a plastics recycling facility in the area, according to Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown.

Due to the clouds of black smoke coming off the fire, all residents within half a mile of the scene were asked to evacuate.

Residents like the Snyder family.

The family of three lives a block away from the fire scene and was forced to leave their home of five years.

Wendy recalls her home being full of smoke as police and fire crews came to evacuate them.

“We’re a little confused and mixed up. But we’re okay. We can replace a house, we just can’t replace a life,” Wendy said.

>> PHOTOS: Large-scale fire sends plumes of black smoke into air in Richmond

“Just one big, bad fire that shouldn’t have happened,” Terry Snyder added.

The Snyders had to go to a temporary shelter set up at Bethesda Ministries.

Ken Harris, senior pastor at Bethesda Ministries told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis that he didn’t think twice about offering up a place for people.

“Richmond will rally together, the churches, the local government, the Red Cross, and the different areas that help and we’ll just see that these people are taken care of,” Harris said.

Lisa Walters was bartending at Welcome Inn Bar and Grill at the time of the fire which is right next to the plastics recycling facility.

Walters said she became aware of the fire when a customer came in and asked if there was a grass fire.

>>It wasn’t if, it’s when;’ Owner of Richmond plastics facility cited multiple times prior to fire

“I went outside, and there was a tremendous amount of smoke and a lot of flames happening at that point. And then there was a few explosions, our lights went out, came back on,” Walter said.

She is out of work until the evacuation is lifted. She isn’t sure if there has been any smoke damage to the bar.

The Indiana State Fire Marshall, Indiana Department of Environmental Management and Environmental Protection Agency are all on the scene assessing any hazards and air quality to determine when residents can return to their homes.

We are following this developing story and will update as new information becomes available.

©2023 Cox Media Group