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Fire at a chemical plant in Duson

Posted at 4:07 PM, May 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-03 17:07:02-04

Fire investigators are working a fire at a chemical plant in Duson, just off the interstate.  Witnesses report several explosions; we have a crew en route.

According to Sheriff K.P. Gibson, I-10 westbound and eastbound is closed near the Duson exit.  He says there is no word yet on if anyone was injured.  They are waiting on HazMat to see exactly what is burning.  The west side of Mire Highway from I-10 to Solder Road is being evacuated. 

So far, the Acadia Sheriff, Mire Fire Department, State Police Hazmat and Troopers, and Lafayette Fire Hazmat are on the scene. 

For more information about the company where the fire is happening, scroll past the videos. 

Video below from our viewers. 

Video below is from Louisiana Bayou Distributors: 

According to its website, Flow-Chem Technologies is owned by Dorf Ketal Chemicals India Private Limited, a Mumbai-based chemical company. 

Flowchem is described as "a speciality oilfield chemical provider that operates across Gulf of Mexico and US onshore market with blending facilities located at Rayne, Louisiana and Pleasanton, Texas in US and multiple warehouses."

The most recent data KATC TV3 has from the state indicates the company has 167 chemicals on site. That data is from 2013. 

According to the company website, Flow-Chem "offers a complete range of production chemicals, maintains a fully equipped technical service and research laboratory, has a fleet of specially designed delivery and service trucks, and provides a staff of professionals with incomparable experience."

The products offered on the site include: demulsifiers; paraffin inhibitors; paraffin dispersants; defoamers; water clarifiers; scale inhibitors; corrosion inhibitors; biocides; surfactant; acids; oxygen scavengers; hydrogen sulfide scavengers; carbon dioxide scavengers; foamers; salt inhibitors; hydrate inhibitors and flow-enhancement products.