WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio --
Firefighters and the Ohio EPA remain on the scene of a chemical explosion that rocked a West Carrollton neighborhood early Monday morning.
The explosion happened just after midnight at Veolia Environmental Services on Infirmary Road.
According to Veolia's web site, the West Carrollton plant handles fuel blending among other services.
The force of the blast shattered windows near the plant and sent flames and a huge plume of black smoke into the air around midnight. The blast leveled two buildings on the property, which were a laboratory and a building that had chemical tanks in it.
News Center 7 was told that there are multiple fuel tanks, with upwards of 200,000 gallons of fuel. Fire crews began to let the fire burn itself out, but late Monday morning, they began to put foam on the fire.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was called to the scene, along with a hazmat crew from Dayton in an effort to help keep chemical runoff from going into nearby streams.
Emergency crews were called to the area and evacuated nearby homes as a precaution. Once fire officials determined what they were dealing with, they told neighbors that they could return to their homes if they wanted.
Two workers were injured after a massive explosion at an industrial plant in West Carrollton.
Investigators said one of the injured workers was first thought to have been dead. They said he apparently climbed out from under some debris and managed to make it into the nearby woods. Emergency personnel said the worker appeared several hours later.
The second worker suffered burns and was taken to a local hospital.
People as far away as Clayton reported feeling the explosion, and the flames continue to be seen for miles around.
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