Only hot spots remain after massive fire at Grand Prairie plastics factory
Firefighters remained on the scene Thursday of the massive plastics storage fire in Grand Prairie which burned for almost 20 hours.
Firefighters contained the fire Wednesday afternoon and extinguished the blaze Wednesday evening, though hot spots still remained Thursday.
“It was so spread out,” Grand Prairie Assistant Fire Chief Bill Murphy said Thursday in a telephone interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It was tough for firefighters.”
No injuries were reported in the fire at the Poly-America factory, at 2000 W. Marshall Drive in Grand Prairie.
On Thursday, firefighters remained on the scene to extinguish hot spots as cleanup crews attempted to remove burnt materials.
Officials had not released an estimate of damage caused by the massive fire which could be seen for miles Wednesday in North Texas.
Firefighters began battling the blaze shortly after midnight Wednesday.
Grand Prairie fire officials have said the fire started under a tower and may have been caused by a power line, but they have not determined an exact cause of the blaze.
“We may never know unless we get video or a witness to tell us what happened,” Murphy said.
Near the tower, large quantities of plastic lay outside of a warehouse and caught fire, spreading quickly in the area, fire officials said.
Fire crews battled the inferno for most of Wednesday, using large quantities of foam to contain the three-alarm fire.
No official evacuations were ordered, but authorities did advise residents with underlying conditions to avoid the area, stay indoors or self-evacuate as needed. Breathing the smoke could cause problems for people with respiratory issues.
Throughout the day, local and state environmental teams conducted on-scene testing for the air quality for any potential smoke impact, Grand Prairie city officials said.
Poly-America was founded in 1976, and it produces products like kitchen trash bags, yard trash bags, plastic sheeting and plastic drop cloths, including Husky brand trash bags, according to the company’s website. Many of the company’s products are made from polyethylene, which is highly flammable. Poly-America employs about 1,750 people and has 10 buildings at its 37-acre Grand Prairie headquarters.
President George Bush Turnpike (Hwy 161) was briefly closed on Wednesday but it since reopened. Other streets near the fire were also closed.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 10:19 AM.
