BALTIMORE --
Firefighters have responded to an explosion Friday morning at the Domino's Sugar plant at the Inner Harbor.
The explosion occurred just before 10 a.m., causing a fire that grew to three alarms by 10:30 a.m.
City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said they received reports of an explosion on the 8th or 9th floor of the building. Steam was seen billowing out of the plant and several windows were blown out of the building.
Cartwright said that the fire department is trying to locate a missing female employee. He said most of the other workers have evacuated.
Cartwright said there have been no confirmed reports of injuries yet.
A witness who was in a locker room inside the building told WBAL TV 11 News that he heard loud explosion and felt a rumble, then saw debris fall. He said he thought a truck hit the building.
According to business records, there are about 300 people that work in the building; however, it is a 24-hour operation, so there's no official word on how many people were actually inside at the time.
The fires reportedly occurred on the sixth and ninth floors, according to Baltimore firefighters. About 85 firefighters were sent to the scene to battle the blazes.
According to Sky Team 11 Capt. Roy Taylor, maintenance crews were working on a dust handling system on the sixth floor. However, there is no word if that caused the explosion. Cartwright said it's too soon to determine a cause.
The plant is located on the 1100 block of Key Highway and is a landmark on the Baltimore waterfront. The building was built in 1921.
Stay with WBAL 11 News and WBALTV.com for updates.
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