1 injured after explosion at Texas chemical plant; fire now contained
- One person suffered minor burns after a chemical plant explosion
- Fire had been contained as of Wednesday afternoon,officials say
- “We think the worst of this is gone," chemical plant owner said
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(NewsNation) — One person was injured after an explosion at a chemical plant in Texas Wednesday morning.
Multiple agencies responded to Sound Resource Solutions in Shepherd, for the fire that started around 8:17 a.m., NewsNation local affiliate KIAH reported.
Initial reports indicated the chemicals involved in the fire were flammable liquids, including possibly diesel and turpentine, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.
Solvents produced at Sound Resource are used to make glue and paint remover, according to the Polk County Office of Emergency Management. Officials said a preliminary investigation showed the explosion happened when an employee noticed a container leaking with chemicals and attempted to use a forklift to lift the container, after which there was an ignition.
Residents within a one-mile radius of the area were told to shelter in place by the San Jacinto Office of Emergency Management for several hours. Earlier in the day, that had been a five-mile radius.
The fire had been contained as of Wednesday afternoon, San Jacinto County Emergency Management coordinator Emmitt Eldridge said. Fire crews used two ladder trucks to put it out with foam.
An employee at the petroleum plant suffered minor burns and was treated for his injuries, Geoff Harfield, president of Sound Resource Solution, LLC said. Harfield said at the afternoon news conference that the employee is now “doing good.”
“He was worried about us,” Harfield said, adding that the employee will should be home with family “this evening.”
Added Harfield: “We think the worst of this is gone.”
“We’ll now work with people like (the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and the EPA, and we’ll make sure that any remediation work that needs to be done is going to be done in the right way so that there’s no effect on the community that we’ve loved for 14 years,” he told reporters.
About 31 students at Wildwood Academy private school were evacuated to the Shepherd Independent School District’s administrative building.
All students are safe, and the district was in contact with local officials and first responders, SISD said on Facebook.
A large plume of smoke could be seen in videos captured by residents as the plant caught fire in Shepherd, a mainly rural area about 60 miles from Houston.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
