Mark Price, The News & Observer on
One hundred first responders from 17 agencies joined forces in an attempt to control the flames, which witnesses reported seeing from nearly 10 miles away in the dark.
The fire is centered in the unincorporated Dudley community, about 65 miles southeast of Raleigh.
“Wayne County 911 received a call at 1:27 a.m. (Saturday) regarding a large fire at National Salvage and Service Corp,” Wayne County officials posted on Facebook.
“A passerby saw the fire and told dispatchers the flames were three stories high. This site is a large industrial facility that houses railroad ties. ... Due to the nature of the fuel load, operations are currently in a defensive status. Firefighters are working to protect exposures and surrounding property.”
No injuries have been reported and an evacuation has not been called for in the surrounding area, the county reports.
Electricity to the plant was cut early Saturday by Duke Energy and Tri-County Electric, and sections of Old Mount Olive Highway and Genoa Road were closed to traffic, officials said.
CSX railroad has also been asked to reroute any trains destined for the area, the county reported.
A cause for the fire has not yet been determined; investigators are on scene.
The grounds of National Salvage have all the fuel necessary for a fire to burn for days. The Indiana-based company operates a railroad tie processing facility in Dudley, which is in a largely rural area.
National Salvage reports it recycles “about 5 million ties per year,” a portion of which are ground up for “boiler fuel.”
“National Salvage & Service Corporation is a trusted industry leader in the dismantling of railroad tracks, the removal of railroad ties from right-of-ways and the demolition of bridges,” the company says.
“Railroad track removal and demolition is National’s core business — we have been removing tracks since National was founded in 1980.”
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