A company in Arlington was evacuated Wednesday morning after a fire broke out, just before an explosion.
The Arlington Fire Department, along with the Shelby County Fire Department, were both on the scene of the fire at Plasma Coatings in the 11000 block of Gulf Stream.
Employees say a gas-fed oven wasn’t vented properly and caught fire around 8:00 a.m. It then exploded minutes after the building was evacuated. A Local 24 crew on scene said walls and doors were blown out on every side of the building, and there is a hole in one side of the building, caused by a huge steel roller that blew through the wall, landing about 70 feet away from the building.
“Everybody was able to get out safely we were able to isolate the electricity and shut all the gas down,” says Arlington Fire Chief James Harvill. “No additional fire danger, no additional evacuations were needed, and they were able to put out the remaining portion of the fire with extinguishers.”
The Arlington Fire Department was able to knock the fire down quickly. No one was hurt during the incident.