Chemical fire in Conyers Georgia: BioLab had a similar incident in 2004

CONYERS, Ga. — A little more than 20 years ago, Conyers residents were struck by a chemical fire at a BioLab building that led to mass evacuations in the city on Sunday.

It's unclear whether the exact same building that caught fire on Sunday also burned in 2004, but the consequences were very similar.

RELATED: Large chemical fire at the Conyers, Georgia plant; Almost 17,000 people in the evacuation zone | What we know

The fire even started at almost the same time – at 4:30 a.m. in 2004 and around 5 a.m. on Sunday.

Reporting from 2004 – including from NBC News, CNN, the Associated Press and United Press International – paints a picture of what the nearly 17,000 people in an evacuation zone in Conyers are currently dealing with.

According to an NBC News report at the time, the fire occurred in a warehouse. It is not immediately clear whether the building was repaired or rebuilt and caught fire again on Sunday, or whether it may be a different building than the current situation.

In both cases, NBC reported that the fire caused hundreds of residents to evacuate. The evacuation zone was reported to be 1.5 miles, and authorities at the time said chlorine was one of the chemicals involved.

A page from the US Environmental Protection Agency states that the cloud's effects could be felt more than 80 kilometers away at the time. Conyers is just over 20 miles from Atlanta.

CNN reported at the time that Interstate 20 was closed as it was on Sunday and that 28 people were taken to two different hospitals with minor injuries. BioLab's then vice president, Monty Eckles, apologized and said no employees were injured, according to NBC News.

The 2004 fire began with an explosion around 4 a.m., and United Press International reported that the fire was fueled by 250,000 pounds of dry chlorine pellets.

What exactly caught fire on Sunday was not explained in detail. Officials said the persistent plume of smoke in the air was due to unspecified chemicals and a reaction between water from the sprinkler system that was triggered in the original fire.

United Press International reported the next day that residents returned home.

In 2011, Pool and Spa News, an industry site – BioLab makes treatment products for pools and spas – reported $7 million in compensation to residents, property owners and businesses affected by the 2004 fire.

At the time, BioLab was owned by Chemtura, a conglomerate that filed for bankruptcy and was later acquired by a German company called Lanxess. According to its website, BioLab is now owned by KIK Consumer Products, through a sale of Chemtura several years before that company was acquired by Lanxess.

11Alive has reported other similar incidents at the Conyers facility over the years. In 2020, a “chemical reaction” within the facility created a plume of smoke over Conyers between Highway 138 and Sigman Road. Local businesses in the immediate area were ordered to evacuate, according to the Rockdale County Public Information Officer. Officials also said residents were asked to shelter in place at this time.

Previously, in 2016, officials said they were alerted to the fire after a resident smelled smoke and chemicals near the store and called 911. According to the sheriff's office at the time, chlorine pellets stored in 5-gallon buckets in an outdoor storage shed had a chemical reaction and caught fire. Residents within a mile of the facility were evacuated, but were given the all-clear hours later and allowed back into their homes. Nobody was injured.