Fire destroys soil mixing facility at Cherokee County plant nursery

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - A fire destroyed the soil mixing facility at Altman Plants in Troup Tuesday night, with damage estimated in the millions of dollars. Six fire departments and roughly 50 firefighters spent the night battling the blaze.

The fire broke out around 6:30 p.m. Fire Chief Scott Bragg of the New Summerfield Volunteer Fire Department said crews battled the blaze for nearly seven hours. Hot spots remained at the site the following morning.

‘Totally engulfed’

Operations Manager James Valentine said he was nearly home when he received the call.

“I got here, it was totally engulfed,” Valentine said.

General Manager Deborah Palmer said flames had spread to multiple areas of the facility by the time crews arrived.

“Everything was already fully engulfed. There was blazes in the warehouse, in the potting area,” Palmer said.

Fertilizer concerns, firefighter safety

Bragg said the size of the fire required a mutual aid response from six departments, including New Summerfield, Troup, Jacksonville, Reclaw, Gallatin, and North Cherokee. Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Smith County Emergency Services, and DPS also responded.

“The biggest concern was all the smoke and all the plastic and trying to figure out if there was fertilizer in that building,” Bragg said.

Bragg said fertilizer posed a risk because it can emit toxic fumes and explode. Crews confirmed no workers were inside the building when they arrived, as the workday had already ended.

Bragg said firefighter safety was a constant concern throughout the response.

“Taking command, I’m in charge of watching to make sure everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to, everybody’s being safe, and no one gets hurt,” Bragg said.

To manage the Texas heat, Bragg said crews rotated in and out during the fight.

“If we got enough people, we rotate people. Let somebody fight the fire for a little bit. Then let somebody go to the cooler and get something to drink,” he said.

Bragg also noted the financial demands of a fire of this scale.

“It takes a lot of manpower to fight a fire like this. It takes lots of dollars to fight fires like this,” Bragg said. “We’re a volunteer department. We’re not state funded.”

‘The heartbeat of our facility’

Valentine described the soil mixing facility as central to the nursery’s entire operation.

“That’s our soil mixing facility. It’s the heartbeat of our facility here. So it’s quite crippling to us,” Valentine said.

Bragg estimated damage in the millions, citing the loss of conveyor belts, production lines, equipment, and the structure itself.

Palmer said the fire also threatened materials on the delivery dock. Employees with forklift licenses moved equipment to safety, and a refrigerated trailer carrying poinsettia cuttings for the Christmas season was relocated before it could catch fire.

Employees and community respond

About 50 employees returned to the facility that night, according to Palmer. Workers brought water and ice for firefighters, operated forklifts to move equipment, and moved tractors and trailers out of harm’s way.

“A lot of our workers just converged on us,” Palmer said. “We had people that said, ‘What can I do?’”

Palmer said some of the employees who responded had been with the company for 25 to 30 years.

“They felt it in their heart — oh my gosh, we’re watching our home burn down,” Palmer said. “We are so thankful for the community that we live in and the people that work for us.”

Valentine echoed that sentiment.

“It was a very humbling experience for me to drive up and to see people with tears in their eyes and just wanting to jump in and help,” Valentine said. “You know, we’re not just a bunch of employees here. These are family.”

Moving forward

Valentine said the company, which has other facilities, has already begun adapting its operations.

“We’ve already been in meetings this morning just figuring out exactly how we’re going to do it. I don’t have all those answers today,” Valentine said. “We will not be defeated. We will persevere through this. And we’ll come out on the other side better than what we were going into it.”

No injuries were reported. The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office will investigate the cause of the fire.