A huge fire that destroyed much of the Anderson Hardwood Floors plant on Tuesday night is still burning Wednesday morning.
Firefighters are working to extinguish the flames at the plant on Torrington Road in Clinton.
The metal building of the damaged section of the plant has collapsed, making firefighters' work more difficult, WYFF News 4's Mark Allen reported.
According to company president Don Finkell, a plant supervisor discovered a fire in a storage room of the plant at about 7 p.m.
The supervisor tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher, but it grew too quickly and he and four other workers in that part of the building evacuated.
About 50 people were in other parts of the building. All got out safely and there are no reports of any injuries, Finkell said.
Finkell said that about 40 percent of the 300,000-square-foot plant was reached by the fire.
The first call came in to dispatchers at about 7:15 p.m. and firefighters from six different departments responded to the scene, including the Clinton, Laurens and Joanna fire departments.
Now that firefighters have been on the scene for more than 11 hours, fire officials said that they are trying to rotate crews to combat fatigue.
Dispatchers said a voluntary evacuation advisory was issued for residents in the area near the plant. There are several houses along roads around the plant as well as a nearby housing development.
A Red Cross spokesman said that a shelter was opened for anyone who evacuated and needs a place to stay. The shelter is at the life center of First Presbyterian Church in Clinton. The life center is across the street from the Church on E. Carolina Ave. The phone number is 833-1065.
Anderson Flooring is one of the nation's largest manufacturers of pre-finished flooring.
The company recently announced a $7.5 million expansion that would add about 100 jobs to the company's payroll.
Finkell said that now, the company may have to temporarily lay off as many as 100 of its 300 employees while it rebuilds the damaged parts of the plant.
But the company expects to be able to begin shipping products again quickly from the undamaged areas of the plant, Finkell said.
The family-owned company moved to Laurens County from its location in North Carolina in 1954 -- after its building was destroyed in a fire.
Check back with WYFF News 4 and WYFF4.com for more details as they become available
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