WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — It's been a month and a half since the Weaver Fertilizer plant caught fire. It was a week-long event that forced thousands of nearby residents and businesses to evacuate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture makes the decision of the quantity of fertilizer on a site

The city of Winston-Salem is formalizing a study on the needed changes in zoning, building codes and fire codes to work within the framework needed

Lee Sharum and other crossfitters had to evacuate Camel City Crossfit for a week immediately following the fertilizer plant fire

One of those businesses impacted was Camel City CrossFit where Lee Sharum has been a coach since this location first opened nearly two years ago. Sharum has been a coach for five years, but he never imagined a fire canceling classes for an entire week

“We were out of here for about a week. A lot of the gyms in the area ended up opening their doors to allow us in to work out,” Sharum said.“We were out of here for about a week. A lot of the gyms in the area ended up opening their doors to allow us in to work out,” Sharum said.

Camel City CrossFit's parking lot sits as the only barrier between the gym and the fertilizer facility.

“When they finally let us back in, the air quality was so bad just because they were starting to bulldoze and clean the area up and kicking up a lot of extra ash and dirt, so it was definitely hard to breathe for a little bit there,” Sharum said.

Luckily, crossfitters understood the situation, and Sharum was able to get paid for the week the gym had to close.

“We’re paid by class and Reggie was really great, so we knew that members were still paying, and he definitely compensated us. We wanted to be here and everybody else wanted to be here so we were able to get compensated for that time off even though we weren't actually able to get into the gym,” Sharum said.

While clean-up is ongoing and air quality has improved tremendously, people of the community still have some concerns on what the future holds for this strip of property.

“The city doesn't have much of a say in what actually goes in that area since it's freed up now, and the fertilizer plant is gone,” Sharum said.

The amount of fertilizer stored at the plant caused controversy in the community. However, the city cannot decide on what quantity is and is not allowed, that decision is left to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That's why the city has decided to conduct an in-depth review on the needed changes in zoning, building codes and fire codes to work within the framework needed.

Sharum actually helped train a few of the firefighters that responded to the initial call, and he's one proud coach.

“I don’t think there could've been a much better way to go about it, but that’s just my opinion, so,” Sharum said.

The biggest question now is what can be done on a local level to make sure everyone is safe.