Explosion, Fire at Hazmat Plant in Tangipahoa Parish, LA, Results in One-Mile Evacuation
An explosion at a plant in Tangipahoa Parish known to store highly flammable products like lighter fluid and motor oil prompted an evacuation order within a one-mile radius on Friday that included an elementary school, while Gov. Jeff Landry said his office was closely monitoring the situation.
An aerial photograph from local authorities showed a portion of the facility engulfed in flames on Friday with a dark black plume rising above it. Firefighters and emergency officials battled hours to control the blaze but by late Friday afternoon parish officials couldn't yet estimate when it would be brought under control.
A tall black plume rises on the horizon from a fire raging at the Smitty's Supply Inc. plan near Roseland on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. The oil and lubricants plant is known to store a variety of highly flammable products, according to state regulatory papers.
No injuries were reported at the Smitty's Supply Inc. complex in Roseland off U.S. 51. State and local officials could not say yet what was burning or what sparked the explosion and fire, but the plant's 8.7 million gallons of tank storage can hold a variety of highly flammable products, state regulatory and company papers say.
The complex employs about 400 to 450 people.
Smitty's officials told state regulators in 2023 that the facility's storage tanks can typically hold ethanol, charcoal lighter fluid, gas oil mixture, motor oil, lubricants and hydraulic fluids, diesel, brake fluid, grease and a variety of unnamed water-based chemicals, according to the report.
Smitty's said then that none of the materials, while flammable, is considered hazardous under state or federal law.
A Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office spokesperson, Ashley Rodrigue, said first responders were staging at the Florida Parishes Arena in Amite. She couldn't immediately say how many firefighters and other officials were responding to the fire, but said multiple departments were involved, including from neighboring Livingston and St. Tammany parishes.
During a brief news conference in Amite on Friday afternoon, Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller promised to provide more information as it becomes available.
So, at this point, that's all we know. That's all the information we have. I'm going to reiterate that we are doing our best to protect people, structures and the environment. And, all those agencies are pulling together to do that and any information that we get, as we get it, we will make sure the citizens of the area know what's going on," Miller said.
When asked, he said he did not expect the 1-mile evacuation zone to be expanded at this time.
Online maps show a Tangipahoa Parish fire department is located next door to Smitty's.
Miller said responding firefighters have experience in fighting industrial fires and, according to Smitty's response plans, the plant has an inhouse emergency response team.
Attempts to reach Smitty's officials through its sales email and sales phone number and to direct numbers for some company officials were unsuccessful by Friday afternoon.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality officials arrived on scene and set up air monitoring that by 4:30 p.m. had not detected harmful chemicals at the ground level around the fire.
Greg Langley, DEQ spokesman, said DEQ personnel were using handheld monitors to measure emissions, likely for byproducts produced from burning hydrocarbons.
He said the U.S. Environment Protection Agency also hired contractors to aid in the air monitoring, though he said he didn't know when that team would arrive.
Such large fire typically combusts, or destroys, much of the burning chemical but often not 100% of it. Estimates vary on the completeness of the combustion in an uncontrolled fire like this one.
In chemical plants, familiar facility flares, which are designed to destroy harmful emissions, can work with up to 98% or 99% efficiency but have tight controls that are regularly monitored by workers.
The Sheriff's Office reported the explosion just before 1:20 p.m., deputies said.
School officials said they evacuated nearby Roseland Elementary on the advice of parish homeland security officials and brought them by bus to school central offices in Amite for parent pickup.
"Please be patient and work with us in this event. The safety of students and staff is at the top of our priority list," school officials said in a Facebook post.
Landry said on X that "we are monitoring this situation closely. Please follow the guidance of your local officials. We are praying for everyone’s safety.
Covering about 20 acres, Smitty's blends and distributes oil and other lubricants under the Super S, Shell, Quaker State, Castrol, Exxon, Valvoline and many other brand names and also provides contract oil, lubrication and treatment product manufacture.
The facility has 20 separate tank farms with 265 steel or plastic above ground storage units. Those tanks hold between 2,000 and 504,000 gallons of various but generally flammable liquids, according to a 2023 state regulatory report.
Many of the tanks are outdoors, although the facility has more than 14 acres of warehouse space, storm water and company plans show.
The 2023 report is required so state regulators can assess the company's plans for potential spills that might leak from tanks into surrounding watersheds. The report is not a current assessment of what was being stored in Smitty's on Friday.
The complex, which also has a grease manufacturing plant, is set up to receive and offload materials from trucks and rail cars and has three rail spurs, the company says.
In addition to the oil, lubricant and grease blending, manufacture or storage, Smitty's has plastic injection molding equipment to make bottles and other products.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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