Towering flames and plumes of jet black smoke poured from the flooded Arkema plant in Crosby as two container of volatile organic peroxides exploded around 5 p.m., officials said.
The two trailers that caught fire were about 25 feet apart, said Arkema executive Richard Rennard. One container caught fire, and the heat from that fire ignited the other container, Rennard said.
"You could call this a warning sign that more explosions or fires could be coming soon," said Jeff Carr, Arkema spokesperson, describing the release of the pressure valves.
This is the second day of explosions at the Arkema plant, which lost power earlier this week, knocking out the primary supply and back-up generators. This forced employees to move the organic peroxides into nine 18-wheeler box vans with cooling systems.