HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on a fire at a Houston-area chemical plant (all times local):
1 p.m.
Authorities say one person is confirmed dead after a fire at a chemical plant near Houston.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says two other people were life-flighted after the fire broke out Tuesday at KMCO in Crosby. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.
Gonzalez says preliminary information shows that the chemical isobutylene initially started the fire, and is still burning. Thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the plant.
Residents who live within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant have been told to stay indoors with their windows closed and heating and cooling systems turned off.
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12:50 p.m.
Authorities have told residents within a 1-mile radius of a burning chemical plant near Houston to stay indoors.
Tuesday’s fire at the KMCO chemical plant in Crosby comes about two weeks after a March 17 blaze at a petrochemical storage facility in Deer Park, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Crosby.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office issued the shelter-in-place order for residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the KMCO plant. Emergency officials say people should turn off all fans and heating and cooling systems, and to go into an interior room with no windows.
Schools near the plant are also sheltering in place.
According to its web site, KMCO is a chemical company that offers coolant and brake fluid products and chemicals for the oilfield industry.
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12:20 p.m.
Fire officials in Texas say early reports show that one person is unaccounted for and two people are injured after a fire at a Houston-area chemical plant.
The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office says the fire is burning at a KMCO chemical plant in Crosby, a northeast Houston suburb. Thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the plant.
One employee told Houston television station KPRC that the plant was in the process of being evacuated because workers were told that there was a leak of some sort.
The employee said the plant exploded as about 20 workers were leaving. He said employees had to crawl under a gate because the gate was locked.
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12:01 p.m.
A fire has erupted at a Houston-area chemical plant, spewing a plume of thick, black smoke into the air, and authorities say two workers may have been hurt.
Harris county Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says in a tweet that deputies were shutting down a roadway near Tuesday’s fire at a KMCO chemical plant in Crosby, a northeast Houston suburb.
Thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the plant.
The fire comes about two weeks after a March 17 blaze at a petrochemical storage facility in Deer Park, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Crosby.
According to its web site, KMCO is a chemical company that offers coolant and brake fluid products and chemicals for the oilfield industry.
The Crosby and Sheldon school districts have asked students and staff to shelter in place at all their campuses.
