VALDOSTA —
Lightning reportedly struck a rail tanker full of resin Tuesday afternoon at the Arizona Chemical plant on East Hill Avenue.
Though the resin did ignite and combust into billowy clouds of chemical smoke, Fire Chief J.D. Rice said that the fumes posed no threat to public safety and compared the chemical to vegetable oil.
Starting at approximately 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the fire didn’t take long to contain, but Rice said fire teams checked the buildings around the initial fire to ensure the flames didn’t spread.
If the fire had continued spreading or resisted the waters of the fire engines and heavy afternoon rains, Rice said firefighters would have switched to a foam compound to ensure the flames were extinguished.
Rice said the fire department’s initial responders struck an alarm for assistance, but it was a procedural act of respect for the chemical plant and the volatile substances that are refined within its walls.
The Arizona Chemical company moved into the industrial complex on East Hill Avenue in 1999. Since 2008, the multi-national company’s Valdosta branch has been focusing on the refinement of resin solutions derived from pine trees.
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