Fire triggers explosions at Louisiana chemical plant as residents warned to stay indoors for hours
Officials say a fire at a Louisiana chemical plant triggered explosions that shook homes several miles away and sent flames and smoke billowing into the air
PLAQUEMINE, La. (AP) — A fire at a Louisiana chemical plant triggered explosions that shook homes several miles away and sent flames and smoke billowing into the air, prompting emergency officials to urge a few hundred nearby residents to shelter indoors for several hours and to turn off their air conditioners.
Flames erupted late Friday at Dow Chemical's plant on the Mississippi River near Plaquemine, south of Baton Rouge. Iberville Parish officials told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate that the fire started in an area of the plant that handles ethylene oxide, a flammable and highly carcinogenic chemical.
The parish's sheriff, Bret Stassi, said no one was injured and that the company had accounted for all its workers.
Residents of roughly 350 households within a half-mile (0.80 kilometers) of the plant were told to shelter inside for several hours overnight. As Dow Chemical and environmental officials monitored the air for hazardous materials, emergency officials urged sheltering residents to shut off their air conditioners and ceiling fans.
