"If you see the smoke, run away from it"

Spot of trouble in the old hometown last night. Explosion and chemical fire, creating toxic smoke cloud, requiring evacuation of thousands of residents.

The blaze at Environmental Quality Co. on Investment Boulevard started shortly before 10 p.m. Past midnight, people were still walking underneath a black plume that had covered the downtown Apex area -- too close to send in police to warn them, Town Manager Bruce Radford said.

"If you see the smoke, run away from it," Radford said.

Police and other emergency officials went door to door warning residents. About 100 homes in the Briarcliff neighborhood, one of the town's oldest, near Apex Middle School, were evacuated to the Apex Community Center next to the town hall on Hunter Street. Officials activated the "reverse 911" system, calling everyone near the fire.

All the home folks are okay, as far as I've been able to determine.

Thousands Flee Apex Fire (Raleigh News and Observer)