Fire Near Midland Chemical Plant Remains Under Investigation
By: Big 2 News Staff
Updated: December 19, 2012
The flames broke out near a business in the 1900 block of King Street in Midland around 10:20 PM on December 18th.
Midland Fire Department officials believe that the blaze originated in the engine compartment of the tanker truck.
The truck had been plugged into an electrical outlet in order to operate the engine block heater before the blaze broke out.
The fire caused extensive damage to the tanker truck's engine and passenger compartments.
The flames then spread to two nearby boats, which suffered extensive damage.
The fire eventually spread to a nearby chemical treatment facility through a metal wall.
The interior of the facility suffered minor damage in the blaze
A total of 13 Midland Fire Department units and 25 firefighters responded to the blaze, and those firefighters were able to get the flames out relatively quickly.
Firefighters say the tanker had oilfield-related chemicals in it at the time it caught fire, but those chemicals were not released from the truck or otherwise involved in the fire.
No injuries were reported in the blaze.


