CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal regulators revealed an extensive list of violations at a chemical plant on Orr Road in northeast Charlotte after a three-alarm fire broke out at the facility.
[IMAGES: Fire at Charlotte chemical plant]
Hazmat crews, police officers and firefighters rushed to the control the fire Wednesday morning at Dow Chemical. They were warned about possible explosions, so they scrambled to evacuate people from nearby businesses.
A small amount of chemicals escaped from the building, but firefighters were kept safe by their gear.
"The dangers would be inhalation with any chemical, so we were patched up and protected appropriately," Charlotte fire Deputy Chief Rich Granger said.
The owner of Dow Chemical is trying to figure out if a liquid named divinylbenzene was the chemical that was leaked. It's a reactive chemical that can explode. It's also harmful to breathe and can irritate eyes and skin.
U.S. Department of Labor violations
The Charlotte Fire Department said Dow Chemical followed its emergency evacuation plan and everyone got out safe. Granger even told Channel 9 that firefighters inspect the plant regularly.
"This facility has a very good track record and our inspection bureau has a good relationship with them," Granger said.
Channel 9 started looking into the plant's past after the chemical leak and three-alarm fire.
It turned out the company was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor 28 times in February 2017 for the control of hazardous energy, overhead and gantry cranes and safety management of highly hazardous chemicals.
[READ MORE: Dow Chemical violations]
"It's a very serious thing,” neighbor John Ray said. “Anything to do with your health."
Ray thinks the company should send notices to neighbors like him so they know what the safety risks are if there's another leak.
"I'm very concerned about it," he said.
Investigators said the fire was caused by a thermal reaction within a drum that contained a chemical, which caused it to over-pressurize and catch fire. It was contained to a storage container outside the chemical plant itself.
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