Chemical plant reopens after fire
Update Monday (April 17): A chemical plant reopens after a fire in one of its buildings.
No one was hurt in the fire last week at JACAM Chemicals in Rice County. It is still unclear what caused the fire.
The company plans to rebuild the building that burned.
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Update 4 p.m.:
Rice County Emergency Management says evacuated residents are back home and surrounding roads will be open Thursday evening following a morning fire to the JACAM Chemicals plant.
Rice County Emergency Management Director Greg Klein says some crews are expected to remain on scene through Thursday night and Friday to monitor hot spots and make sure the situation stays under control.
Klein says there is no reported danger to air quality and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is at the site. He says the state fire marshal will be in Rice County Friday, working to determine what caused the fire.
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Update 3:15 p.m.:
The fire at the JACAM Chemicals plant between Sterling and Lyons in Rice County has significantly died down compared to earlier Thursday. There is just a little smoke showing Thursday afternoon, compared to when firefighters first arrived on scene and flames covered so much of the building, they were not able to get inside.
For a couple hours Thursday morning, witnesses say they could hear the occasional popping of exploding barrels of chemicals, followed by flames shooting into the air.
Firefighters say they concentrated on making sure the fire did not spread to any of the 17 other buildings at the plant. While they say the chemicals burning are not toxic, they wren't taking any chances, shutting down roads in the area and asking people in the pate of the smoke to evacuate. This included most of the workers at the ethanol plant near JACAM.
Rice County Emergency Management Director Greg Klein says officials will continue to monitor air quality from the plant to the city of Lyons. He says the fire is not affecting air quality within Lyons or areas north of the plant.
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Firefighters and hazmat crews are on the scene of a fire at the JACAM Chemicals in Rice County.
Rice County Emergency Communications says Ave Q is closed from K14 to 18th for the fire.
"Please stay away from the area and let the units do their job," reads the post on their Facebook page.
Laura Snyder, the corporate communications manager for Jacam, says there are 18 buildings on the property. Only one is on fire.
Snyder says the chemicals inside the building are flammable, but there are no inhalation hazards, so the decision has been made to let the fire burn.
All employees have been evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
Snyder says the company is committed to safety and there will be a thorough investigation once the fire is out.
