No injuries reported in McDonald chemical fire
A chemical fire in McDonald Wednesday night was knocked down quickly and resulted in no injuries.
The fire broke out about 9 p.m. inside Reaxis Specialty Co. at 941 Robinson Highway, according to McDonald Fire Department Chief Doug Cooper.
Cooper said he arrived to see heavy smoke coming from the south side of the facility.
“The Reaxis workers were on scene. They were aware of the situation, and called it in,” Cooper said.
Cooper added that a tank inside containing hydrochloric acid and other product had a chemical reaction.
“The vapors caught on fire. Basically, we had a hydrogen gas fire,” Cooper said.
Crews knocked down the fire by 9:30 p.m. Damage was mostly kept to the tank containing the chemicals.
According to Cooper, firefighters can’t necessarily take the same approach to a chemical fire as they do a residential fire.
“When you go to a chemical fire, it’s a lot different than a house fire – the tactics and the thinking of putting it out. You take your time and figure it out,” Cooper said.
First responders called the Washington County Hazardous Materials Team for guidance.
“With the help of the HAZMAT and our guys who are trained in HAZMAT, it was a good outcome,” Cooper said.
According to Cooper, any runoff from the fire was contained to the building. He praised the efforts of Reaxis employees to keep the situation under control.
“The Reaxis people were very aware of the situation. They were very in tune to what was going on,” Cooper said. “It was a serious situation that was handled really well, I would say.”
Midway Fire Department, Mt. Pleasant Township Fire Department, Cecil Fire Company 3, Sturgeon Fire Department and Oakdale Hose Company also responded.