HOUSTON – A fire at a La Porte heat treatment plant burned for about two hours before it was finally extinguished Wednesday morning.
The fire started at around 9 a.m. in a furnace at Texas Stress, Inc. at 1304 Underwood Road. Workers were heat-testing a newly fabricated piece of equipment made of magnesium. The Deer Park Fire department rushed pumpers to the scene, but firefighters couldn't use water to put out the fire, because water causes fires fueled by magnesium to intensify.
Firefighters used a company crane to remove the top from the furnace, causing the fire to flare for a while as fresh air rushed in. Firefighters contained the blaze, allowing it to burn down, before moving in to douse it with a compound called Metal X.
"Firefighters went in with proper gear and proper extinguishing agent, had it under control quickly in about 10 minutes," said Chief Greg Bridges with the Deer Park Fire Department.
Deer Park firefighters were among those from several local departments who responded to a gas leak a few miles away last Saturday. That incident resulted in the deaths of four workers at a DuPont chemical plant.
"We stay sensitive about all the plant problems," Chief Bridges said. "Plants operate in sound and environmentally safe manner for the most part. Unfortunately with the magnitude of chemical industry we have in this area, you're going to have a mishap every now and then."
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
Workers at a neighboring business were requested to shelter in place for a time as firefighters fought the fire.