FORT SMITH (KFSM) — Sebastian County emergency managers are monitoring a chemical reaction in Fort Smith Friday (April 6).
The Fort Smith Fire Department responded to a chemical reaction in the parking lot of Ashland Performance Materials on Wheeler Avenue.
Employees were evacuated while police shut down sections of Wheeler Avenue.
The emergency management team said they will look at the chemical reaction to see if it has reached a nearby drainage system. They will determine if a hazmat team will need to be called to the scene.
Fire crews said they do not believe there is immediate danger at this time.
The company released this statement:
“Around 9:15 a.m. local time, a small fire broke out in the blending solutions at Ashland’s Composites manufacturing plan in Ft. Smith, Ark. An investigation is underway, but the fire appears to have started in a chemical blending tank. The fire was contained in the blending tank and was quickly extinguished with a solution of water and foam. As a precaution, all employees were evacuated from the plant. Local fire responders arrived quickly and remain on site to monitor the situation. There were no injuries.”
