Residents impacted by Weaver fire to be reimbursed
The Winston-Salem City Council has voted to move forward with a partnership with Experiment In Self Reliance, Inc., to reimburse those who were impacted by the Weaver Fertilizer Fire.
Earlier this week the Winston-Salem City Council voted to move forward with a partnership with Experiment In Self Reliance, Inc., to reimburse those who were impacted by the Weaver Fertilizer Fire.
At about 7 p.m. on Jan. 31, the Winston-Salem Fire Department received calls of a fire at the plant located at 4440 Cherry Street. More than 150 firefighters responded to the fire, according to the WSFD Chief Trey Mayo.
After battling the fire for nearly two hours, no progress had been made to douse the flames, so firefighters were ordered to abandon the firefighting operation due to risk of explosion.
Around the same time firefighters moved out of the area, everyone within a one-mile radius of the fertilizer plant was asked to evacuate. The evacuation request stayed in place for three days and was not lifted until Friday night.
Under the policy that was approved during the city council meeting on Monday, Feb. 21, the city will set aside $1 million to reimburse residents and businesses in the one-mile radius for hotel expenses, food, lost wages, and other verifiable expenses related to the evacuation.
Residents seeking reimbursement must provide documentation of the expenses for which reimbursement is sought. Each household that has documentation would be eligible for up to $1,000 and those without documentation would be eligible for up to $300.
Experiment in Self-Reliance, Inc., a local nonprofit that has served the community for more than 50 years, will handle applications for reimbursement. Applicants who have been reimbursed through other resources will not qualify for reimbursement.
Records show there are about 2,400 residents who live within one-mile of the Weaver Fertilizer Plant.
Mayor Pro Tem Denise “D.D.” Adams, who represents the North Ward where the plant is located, met with residents impacted by the fire during two separate meetings last week. She said at those meetings for the first time, she saw how traumatic the fire and evacuation was for some.
Adams said she heard several stories of families who just ran out the house with the clothes on their backs, not really knowing when or if they would ever return to their homes.
“This has been a very traumatic experience for the people of the North, Northeast, and Northwest Wards … the trauma, the fear, the hurt, the anguish, the anxiety, all of it’s there,” Adams said.
