Three-Alarm Fire at Newburyport Chemical Plant Draws State Hazmat Team; No Injuries Reported
Sprinklers were already running when firefighters reached the specialty chemical facility at 7 Mulliken Way late Friday. A hazardous materials incident was declared, crews from 10 communities helped, and the cause is under investigation.
A fire at a chemical plant in Newburyport's industrial park late Friday grew to three alarms and brought in the state's hazardous materials team before it was put out early Saturday, the Newburyport Fire Department said. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters were called to 7 Mulliken Way at about 11:10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, for a report of an active fire, Interim Fire Chief Stephen Hamilton said in a statement released by the department. Crews arriving at the building saw heavy smoke coming from the structure, and the building's sprinklers had activated.
The department called a third alarm to bring more equipment and firefighters to the scene. Because the building is a chemical facility, a hazardous materials incident was also declared, the department said, and the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division responded.
WCVB and NBC Boston identified the facility as Strem Chemicals. WCVB, citing the company's website, described Strem as a supplier of high-purity specialty chemicals, catalysts, ligands, organometallics and nanomaterials used in research and commercial applications. The fire department's statement does not name the company or say what materials were inside the area that burned.
WCVB reported the fire smoldered into Saturday morning before it was extinguished. The department said the scene was clear at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
The response pulled in departments from across the lower Merrimack Valley and the seacoast. Mutual aid came from the Newbury, Merrimac, West Newbury, Amesbury and Salisbury fire departments, along with Cataldo Ambulance and Rehab 5, a rehabilitation unit that supports firefighters at long incidents. Fire departments from Groveland, Georgetown, Ipswich and Seabrook, N.H., covered Newburyport's stations while its crews were committed, the department said.
The cause is under investigation by the Newburyport Fire Department and the District 6 Fire Investigators Hazardous Materials Team, the statement said.
The state hazmat division is a regional team of specially trained firefighters that the Department of Fire Services sends to incidents involving chemicals, fuels and other dangerous materials. A hazmat declaration at a chemical facility is a precaution that allows responders to monitor air and runoff and handle any materials involved; the department's statement did not report any release, evacuation or shelter-in-place order, and none was reported by WCVB or NBC Boston.
Questions still open: what part of the facility burned, whether any chemicals were involved in the fire itself, the extent of the damage, and whether operations at the plant will be affected. The department has not released a damage estimate.
