SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas – A shelter-in-place has been lifted after a fire at a chemical plant near Shepherd Wednesday, the Polk County Office of Emergency Management said.
Flames erupted around 8:30 a.m. at Sound Resource Solutions, a plant located at 731 FM 1127, near FM 1127 and US 59.
According to the San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management, one plant employee was injured in the fire.
Geoff Harfield, the president of Sound Resource Solutions, said the fire stemmed from a forklift incident, and the worker involved was sent to Memorial Hermann Hospital. He is expected to be released Wednesday afternoon, Harfield said. No other injuries were reported.
Officials said 20 fire crews worked to put out the blaze.
“Everyone that’s working on this is the right people,” Harfield said. “Everybody has been careful. Everybody has been prudent. Everyone has been smart... We think the worst of this is gone.”
Harfield said the company will work with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine the next steps to take.
According to Harfield, the company’s basic business is industrial chemical manufacturing and the plant deals with many flammable materials. He refrained from releasing a lot of information, saying he wanted to make sure the public received accurate details while the investigation continued.
“It’s not prudent to speculate. What we want to do is get good information, and then we’re going to give it to everyone. We’re not going to hold back from everyone. You’re going to know. Everyone’s going to get the information that they need to know that we’re the right people to do this type of work,” Harfield said.
Air monitoring was conducted and no chemicals were detected, officials said.
Residents within one mile of the plant were told to shelter inside. Any residents who wished to leave their homes were asked to go to the end of FM 1127 to Watson Road to Trinity River Ranch where they will be escorted out. Residents will not be able to return once they leave.
US 59 near FM 1127 was shut down for several hours due to the plant fire but reopened completely at around 6:15 p.m.
Statement from TCEQ:
“TCEQ is currently on site and actively responding to the fire at Sound Resource Solutions. We have deployed mobile air monitoring units to the area that will continue to monitor the air into the night and tomorrow. At this time, no readings of concern have been detected. Additionally, our mobile command post is present and will remain on site until further notice. As this incident transitions to clean-up and remediation, we also have staff on standby for any water sampling or technical assistance that may be necessary. As with any incident of this nature, we will conduct a thorough investigation.”