Blaze Briefly Shuts Down Florida Chemical Plant
Source The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.
SPRINGFIELD, Fla. -- A fire at the Arizona Chemical plant shut down the facility and a nearby street for about an hour Tuesday afternoon.
The fire began at about 1 p.m. in a wastewater basin at the plant near the intersection of U.S. Business 98 and Cherry Street. By 2 p.m., the fire had been extinguished, although a fire engine still was dousing the structure, also known as an equalization basin, with water to keep it cool.
The fire sent plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen from as far away as downtown Panama City and emergency crews shut down U.S. Business 98 to deal with the blaze. The road was reopened shortly after the fire was put out.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire and DeVaughn Stephens, a spokesman for Arizona Chemical, said no dangerous material was released because of the blaze.
"We strictly adhere to our EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations," he said. "We know that there were not any toxins or any dangerous chemicals in the air or anything like that."
He added the company's top priority was to keep employees and the neighborhood safe.
Brad Monroe, the deputy chief of Bay County Emergency Services, said the fire would have had a "minimum impact" on the environment and added that impact would have lasted only as long as the fire was burning. The products inside the wastewater basin "are not really that toxic," Monroe said.
Arizona Chemical makes many products, including adhesives, rubber and tires.
Stephens said officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.
Below is an earlier version of this story:
SPRINGFIELD -- A fire at the Arizona Chemical plant has been put out.
The fire began at about 1 p.m. in a wastewater structure at the plant near the intersection of Business 98 and Cherry Street. By 2 p.m. the fire had been put out although a fire engine was still dousing the structure with water to keep it cool.
The fire sent plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen from as far away as downtown Panama City and emergency crews shut down Business 98 to deal with the blaze.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire and deVaughn Stephens, a spokesman from Arizona Chemical, said no dangerous material was released because of the blaze.
"We strictly adhere to our EPA and OSHA regulations," he said. He added that the company's top priority was to keep employess and the neighborhood safe.
Arizona Chemical makes many products including adhesives, rubber and tires.
Copyright 2012 - The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
