Officials Investigate What Led to Texas Plant Fire

October 5, 2011

Officials are still investigating how workers mixing chemicals at a plant south of Dallas led to a blaze that shot massive plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky, forcing residents to be evacuated for several hours from their homes.

Firefighters monitored the blaze overnight on Tuesday but the fire had been mostly contained a day earlier.

The blaze broke out before 11 a.m. Monday at a Magnablend Inc. facility in Waxahachie, located 30 miles south of Dallas. No serious injuries were reported.

Officials say the fire was sparked as workers mixed chemicals but it was not immediately known what chemicals were involved.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has not found elevated levels of toxic chemicals in the air due to the fire.