2 Firms Evacuated After Chemical Fire Erupts

ORANGE — Two businesses had to be evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a container filled with hazardous chemical waste caught fire inside a manufacturing plant, fire officials said.

An undetermined number of employees of a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a Budweiser distributor, both located on West Grove Street, were evacuated about 3:30 p.m., shortly after fire officials were called to Clinch On Corner Bead Co., where a 35-gallon drum filled with sodium hydrosulfite was burning.

Although the small fire was contained in the drum, Orange firefighters feared the waste could have leaked and posed a danger to people in the immediate area. A lid was placed over the top of the drum, and the fire was brought under control.