According to local authorities, on Monday, November 8, a chemical plant explosion kindled a large fire located in Shepard, Texas, ultimately prompting evacuation across the city.
At the press briefing that concluded the fire, the President of Sound Resource Solutions, Geroff Harfiled, assured the public that everything was in good hands.
“Everyone is accounted for; everyone is okay. We have amazing people up here; the first responders are doing a great job assisting the situation.”
Polk County Emergency Management gave locals a shelter-in-place warning. During the ordinance, the agency asked citizens to “limit all unnecessary outdoor activities” in hope of warning civilians of the local catastrophe.
During the briefing, Emmit Eldridge, the Emergency Management Coordinator, stated that there were 19 employees in the building at the time of the chemical explosion. According to Eldridge, all the employees were evacuated at the sight of the explosion. At this time, only one worker suffered a minor burn injury.
According to the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office, the chemical fire led to the evacuation of a local private school near the incident. Fortunately, all the students were evacuated successfully.
Geroff Harfiled offered concluding remarks in order to address the next steps.
“We will now work with people like the TCEQ and the EPA to make sure that any remediation work that needs to be done is going to be done correctly and that there is no effect on the community.”