Alabama Fertilizer Plant Fire Sends Hundreds Of Residents Indoors

A fire at a fertilizer plant in rural Alabama on Saturday spread caustic smoke and prompted an order for hundreds of residents to stay inside before it was extinguished, local media reported. The early morning fire in Atmore, Alabama, roughly 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Mobile near the Florida state line, occurred before 5:30 a.m. local time at the Tiger-Sul Products plant, company spokesman Usman Khalid said. Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks could not be reached on Saturday, but he told WALA-TV that the sulfur fire had forced about 200 to 300 residents near the plant to remain inside their homes as a precaution.