SUFFOLK, Va. — An explosion led to a two-alarm fire at a warehouse on the edge of Downtown Suffolk on Wednesday morning.
According to a news release from Suffolk Fire & Rescue, crews got the call about the incident in the 300 block of Moore Avenue shortly before 8 a.m. When they arrived, they found heavy smoke. Multiple sides of the warehouse had been blown off due to the explosion.
The fire was under control at 8:32 a.m. No one was injured and there are no reports of anyone who was inside at the time of the explosion.
The building belongs to Celadon DP, a cardboard recycling facility. A couple of the workers who were outside of the warehouse at the time said they heard a loud boom, then smoke and flames started flowing out of the building.
James Shodunke, a manager of the business right next door, said he heard the explosion and ran over to make sure everyone got out safely.
"Once I saw the building was on fire, I ran inside the building and told my staff to call 911," Shodunke said. "I ran inside and called out to try to see where people were. At that time in the building, there was black smoke, a lot of smoke, could barely see five feet in front of you."
Shodunke is also a Marine Corps veteran. He said he didn't hesitate to run into the smoke-filled building to get people out safely.
"I saw that they had three machines that were on fire, so that was my main concern with staff in that area and making sure that area was clear first and foremost," said Shodunke.
Celadon DP recycles cardboard into high-demand 'fiber sheets' and then ships the recycled product to paper manufacturers in China.
However, Suffolk Master Firefighter Katie Russell said the material the facility produces caused some challenges for first responders battling the fire.
"The bales of the processed cardboard are really compacted and tight, so there's a heavy fire load in there," said Russell. "There's also lots of HVAC stuff in the ceilings that the fire could've gotten into and moved throughout the building."
Property managers said they are looking into the extent of damage to the facility.
At this time, the cause of the explosion is under investigation.