Abstract
In February 2022, a fertilizer plant fire burned for four days and displaced thousands of residents, who were mainly low-income and Black or Latino, from their homes in Winston Salem, NC. In partnership with Black and Latino residents and nonprofit organizations, we sought to understand Black and Latino resident perceptions of the chronic and acute health risks, as well as the emotional and financial effects that resulted from the fire, which included the release of nitrous dioxide. We used the Environmental Health Disparities Framework to guide this community-engaged research study, capturing through semi-structured interviews: 1) how residents perceived their community before and after the fire, 2) how the fire impacted physical and mental health, and 3) how individuals coped with stress. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data and identified seven major themes. Participants: 1) perceived their neighborhood positively, 2) were unaware of the potential dangers of the fertilizer plant before the fire, 3) experienced adverse health and financial effects from the fire, 4) took action to protect themselves from the impacts of the fire, 5) raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the fire, 6) raised concerns about the city's response to the fire, and 7) provided recommendations for future city response.