A huge four-alarm fire at a Houston warehouse and nearby businesses on Thursday took nearly 200 firefighters to control and forced the evacuation of a nearby elementary school.
The fire started just before 10 a.m. in the Spring Branch area on the city's west side, reported
KHOU-TV. Firefighters appeared to have the large blaze out about 12:30 p.m.
Fire officials told the
Houston Chronicle that the fire actually started at a nearby home and spread to the Custom Packaging and Filling Company where it grew into the four-alarm fire.
Custom Packaging and Filling handles a variety of hazardous substances, said the Chronicle.
The company had no record of environmental violations, but had not been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the last five years, noted the newspaper.
"Haz Mat has not made contact with anyone who works or owns this company," Jay Evans with the Houston Fire Department told the Chronicle Thursday. "All we have is the name of the place. We have no idea what's in the building."
David Nagy, who operated the nearby Associated Installation Services, told the Chronicle that his employees walked down to the fire and saw explosions as the fire also swept through an auto-repair yard and gun shop.
Nagy said the popping sound of exploding ammunition from the gun shop sent him and first responders looking for cover.
"That's when police came and told me it's time to go," Nagy said.
KTRK-TV said fire crews sprayed thousands of gallons of water around surrounding homes to make sure the fire did not spread to those structures. The television station stated that there were no reported injuries fighting the blaze.
Spring Elementary School, which has about 650 students and 80 staff members, was evacuated and the students were taken to Don Coleman Coliseum where their parents were allowed to pick them up, said KHOU-TV.
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