State fire marshal investigating Loving fertilizer plant fire

Nov. 27--LOVING -- The New Mexico State Fire Marshal's office opened an investigation into the cause of a fire that raged at the Questa Fertilizer facility late Monday evening.

Lead investigator William Farmer said he hadn't yet determined the fire's cause.

The blaze appeared to have originated on the eastern half of the facility and burned down multiple storage units. Items destroyed included about 50 spare tires and wheels, two forklifts, two tractors, empty plastic barrels used for fertilizer and a 1905 fully-restored Webber wagon, said Questa co-owner David McDonald.

McDonald founded Questa Fertilizer along with his brother, Henry, in 1991 after buying the premises from a company that ran a cotton mill. McDonald believes the mill played a role in Monday's fire.

"They took cotton seeds, took off the lint, and then squeezed the cotton seeds and made oil," David McDonald said. "All of that is fuel that left residue in the top of this building and I had no way of cleaning that out. I didn't use that part, (only) the concrete. I imagine that's what happened. I never would have dreamed that could happen but it did."

Once started, the fire spread west and north. The blaze burnt through glass windows and a door to the back of the facility's workshop and stopped at a vacant three-story building to the north of the premises.

No person was injured and no casualties reported, according to Joel Arnwine, Eddy County's emergency preparedness manager and fire administrator.

One fireman from the Otis Volunteer Fire Dept. was forced to leave the scene because of exhaustion but did not have to go to the hospital.

"When I saw him after that episode he looked good," Arnwine said. "He had rehydrated and he looked fine."

Reports of a fire located at 414 N. 8th St. began around 6:45 p.m. and caused McDonald to rush toward the property in a panic.

"There are some dead trees and leaves behind the facility. I thought that's what it was (at first)," McDonald said. "When I got here and saw how big that fire was I knew it wasn't that. The fire was coming out the top of the roof. I was nervous, I was about to have a cow. That was scary, real scary."

Volunteer firefighters from Loving, Otis, Malaga, Joel and La Huerta responded and water was diverted from the local water system to help quell the blaze, causing residents in the area to experience a drop in water pressure.

By 9:45 p.m. firefighters had much of the blaze contained and were attacking lingering hotspots in the area. The area continued to smolder into the early Tuesday morning.

Questa Fertilizer was closed Tuesday and McDonald cannot turn the electricity back on until state investigator close the case. The total value of property damage won't be known until Dec. 2 when an insurance adjuster is scheduled to visity the facility.

Fertilizer

McDonald sells phosphoric and sulfuric acid-based fertilizers to Southeastern New Mexico farmers and is the only supplier from Loving to Artesia. The fertilizers are used to reduce the alkaline level in soils around the Permian Basin from a pH level of 8 to 7. The products Questa Fertilizer sells contrast with those sold by the company in West, Texas, where a massive explosion killed 15 people and injured more than 150. The plant, owned by West Fertilizer Co., made ammonium nitrate fertilizer, an alkaline-based product designed to neutralize Waco's more acidic soil. McDonald said that despite Monday's fire, there was "no possibility of an explosion," because of the nature of the fertilizer.

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