Firefighters battle 5-alarm warehouse blaze in Plainfield

Updated 10:35 p.m.

Firefighters battled a massive fire at a Plainfield warehouse Wednesday.

The fire at the Walmart Distribution Center, at 9590 Allpoints Parkway, was reported at 11:57 a.m. The building was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived three minutes later. Firefighters initially fought the fire from inside the building but adjusted to a defensive approach due to concerns that the building's walls might collapse.

PFT is on the scene of a large fire at the Walmart Distribution Center. 9590 Allpoints Parkway. Media staging is at 1201 Allpoints Court. pic.twitter.com/M9PKFCUC0S

— Plainfield Fire (@PlainfieldFire1) March 16, 2022

Public safety officials said there were about 1,000 employees in the warehouse when the fire started. Walmart told officials all of the employees were accounted for. They were transported by bus to another site to be reunited with family. No injuries to employees were reported. One firefighter suffered a minor injury,

Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles. Buildings around the warehouse were evacuated and public safety officials encourage anyone in the path of the smoke plume to stay inside with windows and doors closed. The smoke plume was so big it could be seen by a weather sattelite as it stretched to the northeast.

Visible satellite imagery showing the smoke plume from the fire in Plainfield, IN this afternoon. #inwx pic.twitter.com/PHMXJ6VUuy

— NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 16, 2022

Plainfield Fire Chief Brent Anderson said the scene would be active and will be for hours.

"Please avoid the area, lots of resources here. I’m estimating roughly 180-200 firefighters are here currently," Anderson said. "Give them room to work."

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management was on scene and monitoring air quality.