CONYERS, Ga. — Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated and others were ordered to shelter in place Sunday to avoid pollution from a chemical plant fire that sent plumes of dark, gray smoke into the air.

Interstate 20 was closed in both directions in the area, the Georgia Department of Transportation said in a post on X.

The fire broke out when a sprinkler head failed around 5 a.m. Sunday at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel told reporters. The failure caused the water to mix with a chemical that reacts with the water, creating a cloud of chemicals. McDaniel said she wasn’t sure what chemicals might have been in the plume.

BioLab’s website lists it as a division of Lawrenceville, Georgia-based KIK Consumer Products, a pool and spa water treatment company. An automated message to the phone number listed on the parent company’s website said to call back during business hours.

“We are actively responding to the events that occurred at our facility in Conyers, Georgia,” a BioLab representative said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Our employees did not suffer any injuries. Our team is on scene, working with emergency services and local authorities to assess and bring the situation under control.”

A small fire on the plant’s roof was initially contained, but it reignited Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Eric Levett said in a video posted to Facebook as gray smoke billowed into the sky behind him. He said authorities were trying to contain the fire and urged people to stay away from the area.

Residents in northern Rockdale County, north of Interstate 20, were ordered to evacuate and others were told to shelter in places with closed windows and doors. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Christine Nesbitt did not know how many people were evacuated.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection were on the scene, Emergency Management Director Sharon Webb said. Agencies are monitoring the air “to give us a better idea of ​​what the plume consists of.”

McDaniel said crews worked to remove the chemical from the building, away from the water source. Once the product is secured, the situation will be assessed and officials will inform residents whether it is safe to return to their homes, she added.