(no subject)

[theweaselking]

An explosion at a chemical plant Friday evening that could be heard 20 miles away caused a large fire and sent up massive walls of smoke. No injuries were reported.

The explosion shortly before 6 p.m. CST at Marcus Oil & Chemical was heard as far away as Alvin, 24 miles southeast of Houston.

"We're not even close to containing the fire yet," Tommy Dowdy, a district chief with the Houston Fire Department, told The Associated Press about an hour after the explosion.

"It has spread into a repair facility in one of the buildings," Dowdy said. "Our main concern is several above ground tanks that are not involved. We are trying to keep them cool."

He said some horizontal tanks and a building were on fire, but they did not know what caused the explosion or what was in the tanks