Explosion in KC

[Itsmy6]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Firefighters are battling a three-alarm blaze at a chemical plant in the East Bottoms.

The fire is at CHEMCENTRAL.

It involves 30,000-gallon tankers filled with flammable liquids, according to Chief Floyd Peoples, of the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department.

So far, firefighters don't have any reports of any injuries, and a hospital official tells us that all the people from the chemical plant made it safely out of the area.

They've evacuated people within a mile of the blaze.

They've started monitoring the air.

They're still waiting to learn what type of chemical is involved.

"If you're smelling it, turn off anything that pulls air into the house, and we're checking the air quality now," Peoples said.

Authorities have closed major traffic routes in the area. Click here to visit KCTV5.com's Instant Traffic map for the latest on the traffic situation.

Several schools have been evacuated.

They include.

* Garfield
* Gladstone
* James Elementary
* McCoy
* Skarritt
* Wittier

The students from those schools are being sent with adults on buses to Paseo High School, where parents can pick them up.

For more information, call 816-418-7422.

http://www.kctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6052823

[ntmd8r38]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A large explosion and fire at a chemical company in the northeast Bottoms caused hundreds of evacuations Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities said nine employees of the Chemcentral building at 910 N. Prospect Ave. were on the ground when a heated tank exploded at about 2:15 p.m., causing a chain reaction of explosions and a large fire. Crews said mineral spirits were involved in the fire.

No injuries have been reported, but three hospitals are on alert.

Workers in nearby buildings told KMBC they heard about eight explosions, the building shook and that the lights flickered. Viewers from across the metro area have said they heard the explosion and that their lights and TV flickered.

The city's emergency operations unit is up and running. The Kansas City Fire Department is urging everyone within a one-mile radius of the blaze to stay out of the area. Crews are going door to door to make sure people leave.

KMBC's Martin Augustine reported that the fire was raging and several explosions could be heard. Pictures from NewsChopper 9 showed the fire had consumed several tanker trucks.

Dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and a hazardous materials crew are at the scene.

Fire Chief Richard "Smokey" Dyer said crews are not fighting the fire with water because the runoff would cause an environmental problem of potentially hazardous materials.

"We are not fighting this fire at all," Dyer said. "The only way to handle this fire is to allow it to burn itself out."

Dyer said one fire truck crew briefly used a water stream on the blaze, but they were told to evacuate.

He said the worst-case scenario is that the fire will burn for 72 hours. Dyer also said that Chemcentral is the only business that is reporting fire damage.

Debris Falls From Smoke Plume

A huge plume of smoke could be seen coming from the Chemcentral building. The dark cloud was visible for miles and winds had blown the smoke to Midtown, KMBC reported.

Pieces of debris that look like ashes have fallen from the cloud of smoke. EPA officials are urging residents not to touch the debris.

NewsChopper 9's Johnny Rowlands reported that it appeared that something was falling from the cloud of smoke. KMBC's Karen Kornacki said she found some ash that had fallen from the sky. She said pieces of ash, some the size of a shoebox, were falling.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring the situation and advised residents not to touch the debris.

Rowlands reported that aviation officials have been warned about the plume of smoke and the falling debris.

Chemcentral is a chemical distributor based in the Chicago suburb of Bedford Park.

"This is a well-run facility with a good safety record," Dyer said.

Schools Evacuated

Employees and residents have been evacuated from the area. Six elementary schools have also been evacuated: Scarritt, McCoy, Gladstone, Garfield, Whittier, Trailwoods, Woodland and James. After-school programs have been cancelled at Rogers Elementary, Northeast Middle, Garcia and Northeast High School. Students will be transported to the Paseo Academy High School at 47th and Flora Ave. Parents with questions can call 816-418-7549, 816-418-7565 or 816-418-7610.

Roads in the area have been shut down -- including the Paseo Bridge -- and traffic is being detoured.

What a mess, no injuries reported at all luckily, makes me glad I don't work in KC anymore with the only major northbound highway out of downtown closed,

[dave29]

Another lucky one

[madmanmartin]

Another good place to view is www.myfoxkc.com.

This is the website for the Fox Owned and Operated station in KC, WDAF-TV4.

Has been burning for 8 hours as of 10:25 pm Kansas City time. The scene is now safe for KCFD to go in and put foam on it.

[CaptainMikey]

I was watching the entire thing. Wednesday night when the fire broke out again and started to encroach on the tanker cars I was expecting to see a bleve. The cars were deformed, steaming and reports of bubbling from inside where heard. Thank god the fire died down enough so they didnt go.