RICHMOND — Richmond residents can now return to their homes five days after a large industrial fire.
Wayne County Emergency Management Agency (WCEMA) announced the previous evacuation and shelter-in-place orders have been lifted as of 4 p.m. Sunday.
WCEMA says the decision was made in collaboration with multiple federal, state and local officials based on air quality data provided to them by the EPA.
Fire crews will remain on the scene of the fire in case there are any flare-ups. Residents are advised to stay away from the scene.
Firefighters began battling the flames at a warehouse at 358 NW F Street in Richmond around 2:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The battle successfully continued throughout the night and into Wednesday morning as fire crews worked to contain the fire.
City officials announced the fire was fully extinguished on Thursday.
Officials ordered anyone within half of a mile from the fire to evacuate.
Residents just outside the half mile radius were asked to shelter-in-place as precaution because officials were not clear on what chemicals were in the air.
In addition to sheltering in place, people were asked to shut off power, heat and AC.
The EPA responded to the scene to collect debris samples from the fire and surrounding areas for testing to determine whether asbestos-containing materials were at play.
Richmond schools announced there will be no school on Monday, April 17.
IU East announced they will return to regular operations and schedules on Monday.
For more information and updates, visit the City of Richmond’s website.
On Monday, Richmond Communty School's announcedschool would be back in session on Tuesday.
