Plastic Composites Plant Evacuated During Chemical Fire

Firefighters were dispatched to the RPS Composites plastic plant in Mobile, AL on Tuesday after a blaze ignited in a chemical storage container, several local news organizations reported.

The fire started at about 8 a.m., television news station WKRG said. HAZMAT teams were also called to the site.

A fire official told NBC News affiliate WPMI that workers evacuated the facility without injury during the incident. Mobile Fire said firefighters had to engage with the company to determine which chemicals were involved in the fire.

RPS Composites manufactures a range of composite tanks, vessels and piping systems, according to the company’s website. The company operates nine manufacturing, inspection, distribution and service centers in the US, including the Mobile facility.

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited RPS Composites’ Mobile site for five serious violations and one other violation in November 2017. OSHA initially proposed a $38,248 penalty.