CONYERS, Ga. — Rockdale County lifted its shelter-in-place recommendation Thursday afternoon following a Sept. 29 fire at the BioLab facility. The fire then sparked a plume that loomed over the county for weeks.
Along with a shelter-in-place, there were roadblocks in the county, specifically near the BioLab facility. Some business owners who work right by the facility said they haven't been able to open up shop for weeks.
On Thursday, after county officials lifted the shelter-in-place, business owners asked 11Alive why they still couldn't get past the roadblocks to get to their businesses.
On Friday, the Unified Command sent 11Alive a statement:
According to the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office, there are no hard roadblocks remaining that would affect anything other than the BioLab facility directly. There are still a few soft roadblocks, but all businesses in the area will have access to their sites and be able to open.
However, business owners said they weren't aware they could get back inside.
11Alive spoke with one owner whose shop is right by BioLab. Ray McCullough owns Helping Hands Commercial Tire (HHCT) and McCullough Classic Auto Group in Conyers.
"It's been pretty bad," he said, as he walked into the garage for the first time since Sept.28.
McCullough opened his tire business in 2016, moving to the location in Conyers four years ago.
"This is a family-operated business," he said. "I started this business from saved money and working overtime."
He recalled when he first heard there was a fire at BioLab.
"We knew it was a fire," McCullough said. "But I was thinking, once they put the fire out, we would be good, and probably Monday morning, we would be back at work. But that’s not what happened."
After nearly three weeks, McCullough said he lost a lot of business, but he still had bills to pay.
"We still got insurance, we still gotta pay rent, we still gotta do everything we gotta do," he said.
McCullough said he wants BioLab to compensate businesses for their losses.
"I just hope we all can get back to providing for our families," he said.
McCullough said he plans to officially reopen his shops on Monday.