The Latest: Early reports: 1 missing after Texas plant fire
HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on a fire at a Houston-area chemical plant (all times local):
9:45 p.m.
The state of Texas has filed a court petition seeking action against a company whose plant caught fire near Houston on Tuesday.
One worker was killed and two were injured critically in the fire at the KMCO chemical plant in Crosby.
The Texas Attorney General’s office filed the petition in state district court in Austin on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The petition seeks a permanent injunction, civil penalties and reasonable attorney fees, court costs, along with recovery of investigative costs.
Harris County had obtained an injunction against KMCO in 2009 that required the firm to pay $100,000 in civil penalties and give investigators easy access to the plant and prompt notification of releases.
___
5:55 p.m.
The CEO of a company whose plant caught fire in Texas says investigators are still determining the cause.
John Foley, president and CEO of KMCO, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon his company will find the cause of the fire and “take steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Authorities say one person was killed and two others injured at a fire Tuesday at KMCO’s plant in Crosby, near Houston.
Pilar Davis, a product manager with KMCO, says the fire initially ignited with isobutylene and was fueled by ethanol and ethyl acrylate. All three are chemicals and solvents used to make fuel additives at the plant.
Foley says safety and compliance remain his company’s “number one priority.”
Records show KMCO has a history of environmental violations.
___
4:20 p.m.
Authorities say a fire has been contained at a chemical plant near Houston and they have lifted an order that instructed residents within a 1-mile (1.6 kilometers) radius of the facility to stay indoors.
Harris County authorities say first responders are working to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby tanks at the KMCO chemical plant in Crosby.
The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office says the order to shelter in place was lifted Tuesday afternoon, several hours after the fire began.
Schools near the plant had also sheltered in place but school districts lifted those orders as well.
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.
___
2:15 p.m.
The company that owns a Texas chemical plant where fire broke out has had environmental violations in the past.
In 2016, KMCO’s corporate agents pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge of violating the Clean Air Act. A plea agreement document stated that a plant employee made false entries in logs of air testing of tanks that were known to be leaking chemicals. Another employee then used those falsified logs to submit reports to the federal and state environmental authorities. The document says the violation went on between 2008 and 2012.
A year earlier, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited KMCO for failing to comply with regulations on its risk-management plan for the plant, but settled with the plant for a $2,700 penalty.
Texas has served the plant with three notices of violation of a federal clean-air law since last August, the EPA website shows.
___
1:15 p.m.
The president and CEO of a company whose plant caught fire in Texas says crews are working with local fire responders to extinguish the blaze.
John Foley is president and chief executive officer of KMCO, whose plant in Crosby caught fire Tuesday. Authorities say one person was killed and two others injured.
Foley says the company is “deeply saddened” to confirm the injuries and fatality. He says the company has activated its emergency response team and incident command center because of the blaze.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says that preliminary information shows that isobutylene initially started the fire, and is still burning.
Isobutylene is a flammable colorless gas used in the production of high octane gasoline.
___
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.
___
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.
___
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.
___
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.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
