BEAUMONT, Texas — A building fire broke out on the 4200 block of Ward Drive and Cardinal Drive in Beaumont Friday afternoon.
The building that caught fire was Earth Analytical Sciences Building. The call came in around 12:50 p.m.
Initial information shows that Earth Analytical had an incident inside the lab that broke a container holding an ignitable chemical and it caught on fire according to District Chief Scott Wheat.
An employee of Earth Analytical called 911.
Wheat told 12News that fire crews made an initial attack, but withdrew and began fighting a defense fire because of chemicals present. They moved into a, “hazmat monitoring scenario" because of the amount of chemicals in the building.
A hazmat monitoring scenario is when crews begin working to find out if there is any hazard from remaining chemicals, according to Wheat.
Fire crew on the scene will also call a remediation crew to the building.
Chief Wheat said fire crews are being released, but hazmat is remaining on scene for now.
It is unknown how long they will have to be there. They are waiting on analysis of the chemicals that are in the building according to Wheat.
One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion and one occupant of the building was treated for mild facial burns.
For the time being, the roadway will be partially blocked because of the hazmat crews working at the site.
Wheat told 12News they have city environmental and TCEQ on scene to make sure there is no environmental impact.