LyondellBasell refinery catches fire in east Houston

HOUSTON – Crews were on the scene of a LyondellBasell chemical refinery on Wednesday night, according to reports.

The smoke was seen for miles, and was coming from a cooling tower at the 12000 Lawndale Street plant.

The fire broke out around 7 p.m., according to reports.

[PHOTOS: LyondellBasell chemical plant fire]

The company said the cooling tower chills down hot water to a lower temperature and does not come in contact with any hydrocarbons

There are no reports of injuries at this time.

[WATCH: LyondellBasell refinery fire near Houston Ship Channel]

LyondellBasell released the following statement on the incident:

"At approximately 7 p.m., a fire occurred in a cooling tower at our Houston Refinery on 12000 Lawndale Street. The cooling tower chills down hot water to a lower temperature and is not in contact with any hydrocarbons.

"Our on-site firefighting team and incident response personnel are working to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible. There are also no injuries.

Our primary concern is for the safety of our workers and the surrounding community. We will provide an update on the situation as soon as we have more information."

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