Hazmat Incident, 2-Alarm Fire In Upper Merion Under Control

Norristown PA

14 July, 2021

2:28 PM

Description

UPPER MERION, PA — An early morning two-alarm fire at an Upper Merion chemical plant was brought under control without any injuries on Wednesday. The incident began just after 4 a.m. at Coopers Creek Chemical Corporation on the 800 block of River Road. Authorities said that processing tanks for petroleum-based products caught fire, sending up large plumes of smoke and flames. Because of the flammability of the structure and associated risks, the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety's HazMat Team and Foam Task Force were called to the scene. Emergency crews initially struggled to assess the extent of the fire, and they decided to spread firefighting foam over the petroleum products to limit the blaze. The fire was fully extinguished, and firefighters cleared from the scene, by 9 a.m. The cause of the fire, and full extent of the damage to the plant, remain unclear. Upper Merion Township Fire and EMS and the Department of Public Safety were assisted by the Field Comm 3/Tactical Communications Team and UAS drone pilots from the Emergency Management On-Call Team.