Firefighters battled a large fire at chemical and plastics distribution facility in Garland on Friday.
The fire raged through containers inside a covered loading rack at the Nexeo Solutions facility in the 3000 block of Wood Lane on Friday afternoon. The fire, which was first reported at about 3:30 p.m., was contained to the rack, although adjacent containers emitted steam, presumably from heating or blistering paint.
The fire was out by Friday night, and fire crews remained at the plant to monitor hot spots throughout the night.
Nexeo Solutions spokeswoman Christina Reynolds confirmed that methanol was one of the chemicals involved in the fire. She said she was awaiting confirmation on what, if any, other chemicals were involved.
Reynolds told NBC 5 that all employees escaped the fire without injury. She said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
The city of Garland said in a tweet that a truck carrying methanol caused the fire in an unloading area but later deleted the post.
A Nexeo driver told NBC 5 he was thankful that the wind was blowing to the west. If it were blowing to the east, the tanks adjacent to the fire would be at much greater risk of exploding, he said.
Several explosions could be heard while the fire burned through containers. Chopper 5 was the first helicopter over the fire with aerial pictures. Chopper 5 photojournalist Ames Meyer and a pilot were hovering above the fire when she felt an explosion.
"We were 1,000 feet in the air, and when we felt a boom that big, it was just like a muffled sound," Myers said. "We both looked at each other like, 'What was that?' You know, your first reaction is, do you think it's the helicopter? No, it's that big fire on the ground."
At 4:40 p.m., firefighters began spraying water to try to cool tanks near the fire. Garland Fire Capt. Merrill Balancier said there is concern about spraying water onto the containers that are on fire because it is believed the chemicals do not mix well with water. But firefighters later called for sand trucks to be brought in because the use of water was spreading the fire.
Firefighters allowed the fire to burn out and kept it from spreading. To the west, tanker cars on rail lines contained chemicals that posed a significant risk of exploding, Balancier said.
Nearby businesses within one-quarter of a mile of the facility were evacuated as a precaution. Residential neighborhoods are as close as a half-mile to the east across South Shiloh Road, but were evacuated, Garland Fire Chief Todd Peele said.
However, officials asked people to avoid the area.
The National Weather Service said the plume of smoke blew from east to west and rose to 7,000 feet. NBC 5 Chief Meteorologist David Finfrock said wind speeds were about 5 mph during the fire.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Garland Health Department are checking air quality in the area. Garland fire crews said the EPA tests came back negative for any immediate danger.
A sign in front of the complex indicates that the facility is owned by Ashland, a world-wide chemical company. NBC 5 has learned that Ashland sold the facility in 2011 to Nexeo Solutions, a Texas company based in the Houston area.
According to the United States Department of Labor, Nexeo Solutions has been cited $11,500 for improperly storing flammable liquids and organic peroxides in December 2011 at a facility in Tewksbury, Mass. NBC 5 has also learned a Nexeo Solutions facility in Willow Springs, Ill., caught fire in June.
We will continue to update this story with more information as soon as it's available. As this story is developing, elements may change.
NBC 5's Kevin Cokely, Kristi Nelson, Ames Meyer, Tammy Mutasa, Ellen Goldberg, Scott Friedman, Eva Parks, Ken Kalthoff and Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.
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