An explosion and fire early Sunday at a farm supply store stocked with hazardous chemicals forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in neighboring homes.
The blast happened about 1:45 a.m. at a Quality Farm and Fleet Store just outside Battle Creek, store manager Mike Balzer said.
“There was a large explosion,” Balzer told radio station WBCK. “The front windows were blown out.”
No injuries were reported, but concerns about toxic chemicals led authorities to evacuate people living within a mile of the store as a precaution.
The Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at the offices of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Police said the evacuees numbered in the hundreds.
The store contained pesticides, herbicides, oils and fertilizers, a small amount of which seeped into a nearby creek, said state environmental official Steve Norton.
