Waxahachie chemical plant fire threatened nearby railcar tankers
A chemical fire at a Waxahachie, Texas chemical plant forced evacuations of nearby schools and neighborhoods on Monday.
The Star Telegram reports that the chemical plant caught fire after combustible chemicals were mixed. The fire began shortly after 11 a.m. The fire then outran the sprinklers at the Waxahachie Magnablend plant and began to spread. As it spread it engulfed an Ennis firetruck.
Nearby schools and neighborhoods in Waxahachie were evacuated as a dense black smoke filled the air. The fire didn’t create any air quality problems, a spokeswoman for Waxahachie said.
Firefighters from Waxahachie and surrounding cities, including DeSoto, Red Oak, Ennis and Midlothian, arrived on the scene to battle the blaze. At one point, the flames were 150-200 feet high. The flames even threatened nearby railcar tankers.
Flammable liquids were released at several points during the blaze, make the battle even more difficult for firefighters. By 8 p.m., hwoever, the Waxahachie blaze was under control.
By Monday afternoon, most of the evacuated Waxahachie citizens had returned.
Read more about the Waxahachie chemical fire here.
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