WINCHESTER — A large industrial fire led to a shelter-in-place Friday afternoon in a city in east central Indiana.
The fire broke out around 2:40 p.m. Friday at The Pallet Builders off U.S. 27 on the north side of Winchester, said an alert from the Randolph County Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency and a later message from Winchester Fire Chief Scott Patterson.
The agency said Friday night on social media that plastic pallets on the north end of the industrial facility caught fire, and it spread rapidly. Five fire departments, and several police departments and emergency medical personnel responded, and had completed their work by 6:40 p.m. No one was injured.
The fire chief said on social media, “Crews made a quick attack on the fire and it was contained to the outside of the structure.”
Patterson added in the social media post Friday night, “The fire is under investigation in coordination with the Indiana State Fire Marshals office. No further details will be released at this time.”
Randolph County emergency dispatchers said a shelter-in-place — in which residents of the area were asked to turn off air-handling systems and stay indoors — was lifted about 3:55 p.m.
Republican Mayor Bob McCoy of Winchester captured video of the fire as he returned from a trip to Richmond. The video showed flames and thick, black smoke rising from the lumber cutter and pallet manufacturer’s building.
Photos of the scene from the Randolph County Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency showed what appeared to be a drainage ditch with some sort of pollution that may have resulted from the fire. The photos also showed fire crews getting water from a nearby pond to fight the fire.
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