Fire breaks out at east Charlotte chemical company
A thermal reaction in a drum containing a liquid chemical sparked a fire at Dow Chemical Co. in east Charlotte Wednesday morning.
The three-alarm fire occurred in the 6100 block of Orr Road around 7:30 a.m., a company spokesperson said.
The drum containing divinylbenzene became over-pressurized and caught fire, according to the Charlotte Fire Department Investigation Task Force, which ruled the fire an accident.
Under the direction of Deputy Chief Rich Granger, 50-plus firefighters controlled the blaze in 40 minutes, Charlotte Fire Capt. Jackie Gilmore said. No firefighters or company workers were hurt.
Fire crews saw heavy smoke coming from the flammable storage building. With fire alarms sounding, employees followed the companies’ evacuation plan and exited the building to a safe location, according to Gilmore.
The fire was contained inside the flammable storage container, Gilmore said. “All chemical safety systems worked and contained the fire until the fire department’s arrival,” Gilmore added. “There are no concerns for health or environmental hazards.”
Structure Fire; 6101 Orr Rd; 2nd Alarm transmitted for commercial building; Station 15 area; @8:09am; JGilmore pic.twitter.com/W60Scx8DlX
— Charlotte Fire Dept (@CharlotteFD) September 27, 2017
This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 8:24 AM with the headline "Fire breaks out at east Charlotte chemical company."