Posted on 01/06/2004 10:20:14 AM PST by HAL9000
CONWAY, Ark. (AP) - An explosion rocked a chemical plant in Conway on Tuesday, forcing emergency workers to evacuate parts of an industrial park and a nearby daycare center."There were some early reports of people with burns but I am not sure of their status," said Conway Police Lt. Chip Stokes.
The explosion occurred at Detco Industries, on the city's south side, near an airport that was shut down temporarily. The state Emergency Management Department said the company makes chemicals for use in industrial maintenance operations.
Black smoke rising from the site could be seen as far away as Little Rock, 30 miles away. The plume was being carried southward on a light north wind.
Stokes said the explosion occurred about 11 a.m. Emergency workers evacuated buildings within a half-mile, including a day-care center.
Stokes there a number of unknown chemicals in the building and that emergency workers were concerned about the possibility of another explosion. Another dozen or so plants are nearby.
"We've got a thick black smoke coming out of the building," Stokes said.
I think a lot of it is driven by the media. I remember what appeared to be a large amount of shark attacks around Florida turned out to be two things - a normal number of shark attacks and a slow news summer. Combine the two, you get paranoia, and the media loves to feed off paranoia so it becomes a mini-circle.
Hi...Woffie,
Prayers for Your Family and ALL in Conway, Ark.
Also Prayers for ALL Firefighters, Police and Emergency Workers responding to this situation.
Sorry about that...
Should be Hi...WOOFIE!
"The Barrel State"
I am concerned about what these people were "breathing". A friend told me her Mom said her lungs "burned", but she went in the house and drank some water and feels better now. Strange.
sw
Both these segments are remarkably clear now, actually... just went through both over Christmas.
" Plant fire empties parts of Conway Explosion sends pungent smoke wafting over city, MICHELLE HILLEN AND AMY UPSHAW ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, January 7, 2004.Acxiom evacuated all 1,800 employees from its Conway campus on Industrial Boulevard, roughly a mile south of the fire.
The evacuation forced the marketing-and-database company to transfer its operations to offices in Little Rock and Illinois, triggering a plan to avoid interrupting operations, said Rodger Kline, Acxiom's operations leader.
Acxiom's Conway offices house the majority of the company's computer systems, a 24-hour operation that constantly exchanges marketing information with client companies.
"The campus became a ghost town, but the operations and services weren't interrupted," said company spokesman Dale Ingram. Roger Hobby, who works for Hewlett-Packard Development Co. on-site at Acxiom, was about to go to lunch when he got word of the explosion and subsequent evacuation.
"We didn't hear anything," said Hobby. "We walked out the door, and as soon as you hit the door, you were overwhelmed by the stench of burning metal and a great plume cloud billowing up in the sky. It didn't look good."
Rural business damaged by blaze
Owner has ties to Detco founders Elliott, Clark
A fire about 8 p.m. Thursday at Advanced Products International on Highway 64 east of Conway damaged the company owned by Stan Goss, a former employer of Gary Clark and the late Carter Elliott, founders of Detco Industries.
Goss said Thursday night that it was a coincidence that his company would catch fire two days after Detco burned after a chemical explosion.
"Those guys are all my friends," Goss said. "This is close. Too close."
Goss once owned the Detco building on East Robins Street but sold it and his chemical-manufacturing company in 1986.
Advanced Products is in a 60,000-square-foot building just east of Sunny Gap Road. According to its Web site, it produces ForMor, nutritional supplements, skin-care products and home-care products. ForMor is sold through distributors across the United States and in 30 countries.
Most of the Advanced Products employees live nearby, Goss said, and they were huddled outside the building, watching Liberty Volunteer Fire Department handle the blaze believed to have started in an oven where a new product had been drying.
Liberty Fire Chief Jack Mace said he got the call saying there was smoke coming out of an oven. His department sent two pumpers, a tanker, two engines, a service truck and 15 firemen.
Goss said the building had "no flammable or dangerous stuff," and he entered the building to check the ovens, but that area was full of smoke.
"Liberty got here really fast," Goss said. "Many thanks to them."
Within the hour, the fire was out and smoke extrication had begun.
Mutual aid was provided by volunteer fire departments from Vilonia, Beaverfork and Conway. NorthStar EMS had two units standing by, but John Ord of NorthStar said there had been no injuries to firefighters.
... fire about 8 p.m. Thursday at Advanced Products International on Highway 64 east of Conway damaged the company owned by Stan Goss, a former employer of Gary Clark and the late Carter Elliott, founders of Detco Industries.
Goss said Thursday night that it was a coincidence that his company would catch fire two days after Detco burned after a chemical explosion.
"Those guys are all my friends," Goss said. "This is close. Too close."
Goss once owned the Detco building on East Robins Street but sold it and his chemical-manufacturing company in 1986.
when 1st reported, my initial reaction was: "no way this could be connected to detco."
now, this is bizarre.
if this happened 4 - 8 years ago, I could swallow it as part of the regular daily fare around arkansas.
death & destruction follow drugs and money..or drug money.
somebody pissed some body off for sure.
1st I've heard of the chemical weapons angle. or, the "men in uniform" for that matter. (could in be central arkansas' vaunted atf'ers?)
iirc, there was a full page ad place in the arkansas democrat gazette last month announcing that DATELINE t.v. show would be in town working up a piece on the carter elliot murder.
in the ad, they requested anyone with information on the murders could contact conway police department or faulkner county sheriff dept.
strange that these fires, explosions, arsons(?) come on the heels of the ABC production????
I wonder if they have completed production of the DATELINE special? anybody know when it will air? suppose they'll be back in town to do a follow up?
p.s.: too bad NDCORUP(RIP) ain't around to properly conspiracize these events.
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