CLAREMORE, Okla. — A large chemical fire at a galvanizing plant near Claremore and Verdigris lead to some evacuations last night but officials say there is no danger to the public now.
Half a dozen fire crews and law enforcement agencies battled and treated the fire almost 12 hours later after receiving the initial call. The fire has since been contained.
Verdigris Fire responded to Valmont Coatings-Oklahoma Galvanizing Plant around 6:00 p.m. for a structure fire that transitioned into a hazmat situation.
Fire crews from Verdigris, Tulsa, Catoosa, Claremore, Limestone, Oak Grove, and the Region 2 hazmat crew all worked together to fight this fire. However, because of the chemicals, they couldn't fight the blaze with much water.
Verdigris Fire Chief Mike Shaffer says since this is a galvanizing plant, there are large containers of zinc chemicals on-site.
He says because of the chemicals, the crews were letting the fire burn itself out to a point. Eventually, crews will put another chemical on the fire to eventually suffocate it.
Chief Shaffer said crews immediately took steps to minimize the exposure to the surrounding areas.
“There’s no exposure as of right now to any drinking water or anything but there are precautions being taken to make sure the citizens, both here in verdigris and downwind and downstream are safe”, Chief Shaffer said.
Multiple agencies are coordinating efforts to make sure any chemical runoff is stopped before it reaches a water source. At this time, there is no concern of the fire or chemicals impacting drinking water.
2 News learned that no one was in the building when the fire started, and crews are still investigating the cause of the fire.
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