Houston Chemical Fire Leaves One Dead, 2 Critically Injured
- Hours-long blaze comes just two weeks after oil tank disaster
- KMCO facility has 28 reactors, 600 chemical storage tanks
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An explosion and fire at a chemical plant northeast of Houston left one person dead and two battling for their lives, just two weeks after a blaze at an oil storage facility caused thousands of gallons of petrochemicals to flow into the city’s shipping channel.
The blaze at a chemicals blending facility in Crosby, about 25 miles from central Houston, is now extinguished with no further casualties, Rachel Moreno, a spokeswoman for Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, said by phone. It began at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday when a transfer line carrying isobutylene, a flammable gas, ignited and spread to a nearby warehouse. Firefighters are keeping the site cool to minimize the risk of it catching alight again.