'I never seen anything like that': Contractor at Pfizer witnesses EF3 tornado

Hicks, who has worked at the plant for nine years, was walking back to the shop when he received a WRAL weather alert on his phone. He and his coworkers gathered in the hallway; he says that’s when the tornado hit.

“The wind was strong and the power went out,” Hicks said. “We just sat there in the building as the tornado passed.”

Afterward, Hicks went outside and saw the damage. He said he had never experienced anything like it before, not even Hurricane Fran.

Hicks felt safe inside the plant as the storm passed, having received a weather alert on his phone. He later discovered video footage of the tornado from his dash cam.

The plant is one of Nash County’s largest employers, employing more than 3,200 people.

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told WRAL News that 50,000 pallets of medicine were destroyed when the tornado hit Pfizer. According to Pfizer’s website, this facility produces nearly 25% of Pfizer’s sterile injectables for U.S. hospitals.

The CEO of Pfizer announced Friday the company is planning to pay all employees during the closure of the plant.