Firefighters extinguished a blazing inferno Thursday at a chemical warehouse in Texas, but were unable to prevent nearby creeks from turning blood red and noxious black plumes of smoke from filling Houston’s afternoon sky.
The four-alarm fire sent more than 170 firefighters clamoring to contain the conflagration. They spent hours beating back the flames, though they were unable to keep fireballs from rocketing skyward, raining down debris and tar on nearby buildings and cars.
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Hours later, investigators navigated the burned wreckage at the Custom Packaging and Filling Company in Spring Branch, a small neighborhood in Houston. Arson investigators, while sifting through the ashes, noticed charred barrels among the debris, many of which were marked with labels and placards warning they contained hazardous materials.
“It was like throwing bombs in the air,” Sasha Martinez, a nearby resident told reporters.
The fire, which started at 10 a.m. on Thursday, spread to several nearby shops.
David Nagy, the owner of a nearby company, said he and first responders ran to take cover from the flames after hearing what sounded like guns firing.
Another eyewitness told reporters her sister sent a text message when the warehouse began licking flames. The text read: “My shop exploded.”
No one was injured, authorities said.
One of the chemical company’s managers told Houston Fire Department Capt. Ruy Lozano that the warehouse held petroleum-based additives and pesticides.
Firefighters did their best to stifle the chemical runoff by smothering the contaminants with foam, but were unable to prevent the pesticides and other noxious chemicals from leaching into the Spring Branch Creek, which turned dark red after being contaminated.
Officials hope the high water levels in the creek will dilute the chemicals. Officials are warning all citizens to keep away from any nearby creeks, especially from Spring Branch Creek.
Custom Packaging and Filling Company handles numerous hazardous substances, according to the company’s website and records of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The company has no record of environmental violations, but public records show it has not been audited or inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the last five years.
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