Authorities in Georgia ordered evacuations of neighborhoods following a large fire at a chemical plant near Brunswick on Monday morning.
The blaze and explosion were reported at the Symrise production site on Colonel Island, officials in Glynn County said in a statement.
“A fire has broken out at the Symrise production site Colonel Island,” the statement said. “The production facility manufactures fragrance ingredients. Given first estimates, no one got injured and there is no danger to employees or residents.”
It added that the “fire broke out during the early morning hours,” although the reason is not yet unknown. An investigation is underway, officials said.
“As a preventive measure, they have evacuated the property and the neighborhood in a one-mile radius,” the statement continued. “The fire occurred during the regular production hours for the manufacture of fragrance ingredients. Currently Symrise has no reason to believe that the fire will cause additional health hazards to the local community.”
Glynn County Communication Director Katie Baasen told First Coast News that the blaze has been contained, but it remains a “big fire.”
County authorities said that Symrise will cooperate and support local authorities in determining the cause of the blaze.
A photo released by the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office online shows large plumes of smoke rising from the beleaguered facility.
“It was just a lot of smoke,” Keith Rathbun, a witness, told News4Jax. “We sat there for a little bit and all you could see was smoke and the fire trucks just kept rolling in, kept rolling in … nobody told us what was going on. I didn’t know. None of us knew what was going on until we got inside the port here, and then the Port Authority told me what was going on.”
Officials told the outlet that an estimated 100 households were asked to evacuate. No one adhered to the shelter in place, however.
In a statement to Fox News, the firm said that “given first estimates, no one got injured and there is no danger to employees or residents. Local fire brigades and police fully control the situation on site.”
“The fire occurred during the regular production hours for the manufacture of fragrance ingredients,” the statement said. “Currently Symrise has no reason to believe that the fire will cause additional health hazards to the local community.”
According to its website, the Symrise Chemical Plant produces more than 34,000 products that are distributed to 150 countries. They include beverages, pet food, nutritional items, oral care products, and perfumes.
From The Epoch Times
