What happened at the Magnablend Chemical Plant facility in 2011?

On 3 October 2011 at around 10:30am a fire broke out at the 100,000 sq ft warehouses at the Magnablend Chemical Plant facility in Waxahachie, Texas.

How did the Magnablend Chemical Plant facility fire start?

It’s likely that the explosion occurred due to a chemical reaction from the blending process.

The fire quickly consumed the facility stockpiles of ammonia, sulfuric, hydrochloric, nitric and phosphoric acids, which the facility mixes for fertiliser and agricultural products. It produced vast amounts of smoke plumes as high wind pushed smoke particles at 10mph. The smoke could be seen for miles around, resulting in evacuation of the nearby 1,000 homes and school of 650 students.

The blaze then developed into a liquid running fire, consuming everything in its path. Due to lack of containment it moved outside the facility, engulfing a £1.2 m fire truck. The fire services also had growing concerns for a nearby train containing flammable products.

What can the industry learn from the Magnablend Chemical Plant facility fire?

The fire grew too quickly for the site sprinkler system to contain - it was operating too many sprinkler heads which as a result reduced the water pressure and water deployment.

The fire department decided to allow the fire to burn out.