Fire at chemical plant under control
The fire began after an explosion at the plant on Saturday night
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Sunday, 09, Sep 2007 10:21
Firefighters have brought a massive blaze under control at a chemical plant at Stevenson in Ayrshire.
A spokeswoman for the police said an explosion occurred at the factory managed by Nobel Enterprises on Saturday night. She added that there were no injuries.
The police said the explosion took place inside the factory stating that over 1,500 tonnes of a flammable chemical, nitro cellulose, was involved in the explosion.
Local residents were asked not to leave their homes as ten fire tenders and over 70 firefighters tried to extinguish the flames.
James Smith, 54, who lives close to the site of the blaze said he had heard loud explosions and saw flames in the night sky.
He said: "It was enormous. The flames were a couple of hundred feet high. It was like a white flame.
"There were a couple of explosions, like gas canisters."
The police added that the factory was formerly owned by chemical company ICI.