ATF agents investigate Grand Prairie fire as blaze at another Poly-America site erupts
Power lines failed and fell after a fire was already burning out of control last week at a Grand Prairie plastics manufacturing plant and did not lead, as initially thought, to its eruption.
The cause of the blaze that began late on Aug. 18 at a Poly-America storage building remains under investigation a week later.
Early Monday, five days after the 23-hour Grand Prairie fire, flames filled a facility operated by a Poly-America subsidiary near Chester, South Carolina.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting the Grand Prairie Fire Department in the cause investigation, and special agents in both the Texas and South Carolina cities have been discussing the probes.
Initial reports from bystanders in Grand Prairie suggested power lines fell and caused the fire. Using photographs and reports from power failure time stamps from the utility company Oncor, fire department investigators ruled out the lines as the cause, the department said Tuesday.
Oncor lines were intact, above ground and in normal operation when the fire started, the utility company said.
The South Carolina fire involved pallets, plastics, oil drums, tires and trailers outside a plant.
It was difficult to get to the Grand Prairie fire and the water supply was inadequate, the fire department said. Those factors contributed to its quick spread at 2000 West Marshall Drive.
Environmental cleanup, including air, water and soil monitoring, continues, the department said.
No one was injured from smoke or burns in either fire.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 9:05 PM.
