Plastics Manufacturing Plant Fire Burns for Hours

Flames swept through plastic rolls stored at the Poly-America plastics manufacturing plant in Texas early Wednesday morning.

John S. Forrester, former Managing Editor

August 19, 2020

1 Min Read
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Representative imageImage courtesy of Pixabay

A large fire ignited at the Poly-America plastics manufacturing facility in Grand Prairie, TX in the early hours of Wednesday morning, causing a massive plume of smoke that was visible throughout the area, local news organizations reported.

The blaze started around midnight “due to high-tension power lines falling into the plastic inventory,” Grand Prairie Fire Department said in a Facebook post. During the response, fire officials told those with underlying conditions to avoid the area near the plant but stopped short of issuing evacuations.

A railcar at the facility exploded during the incident, according to CBS DFW. Fire officials said the material involved in the fire posed challenges. “These are rolls of plastic sheeting, huge rolls, and they’re stacked sometimes 8 ft high,” Grand Prairie Fire Assistant Fire Chief Bill Murray told the television news station. “Plastic is hard to put out and it’s just gonna burn for, sometime ‘til tomorrow.”

No injuries have been reported. The fire continued to burn as of press time Wednesday morning.

Poly-America manufactures several product lines of polyethylene products at four facilities in the US. Founded in 1976, the company is based in Grand Prairie.

About the Author

John S. Forrester

former Managing Editor, Powder & Bulk Solids

John S. Forrester is the former managing editor of Powder & Bulk Solids.

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