Fierce fire at Fairfield chemical plant

(06-04) 21:56 PDT Fairfield -- Three tanker trailers filled with chemicals burst into flamesWednesday at a chemical plant in Fairfield, prompting theevacuation of nearby businesses and an emergency order forresidents to stay indoors, but firefighters managed to put the fireout within three hours.
The fire, which was first reported at 5:56 p.m., was extinguishedby 8:55 p.m., said Officer Cleo Mayoral, a spokesman for theFairfield police and fire departments.
He said the three-alarm blaze was confined to three tankers at theAshland Distribution chemical plant. The plant itself never caughtfire, he said, but as many as seven other tanker trailers werethreatened by the roaring inferno.
Flames and choking black smoke billowed into the sky after the firebroke out. The burning tankers were each loaded with 7,000 gallonsof the solvents ethyl acetate, which is used in glues and nailpolish removers, and toluene, which can be used as an octanebooster in gasoline fuels.
Both chemicals are toxic and can cause severe respiratory problemsand nausea. The cloud of smoke blew in a southwesterly directionfrom the plant, which is on Crocker Circle and Huntington Drive inan industrial area of Fairfield.
Residents of 2,500 homes within a mile radius of the plant weretold to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed whileFairfield firefighters and crews from Travis Air Force Base usedwater and a special foam to battle the inferno.
Everyone in the immediate industrial area - about a quarter-milesquare - was evacuated, but the emergency orders were lifted afterthe fire was out, Mayoral said.
"There were no injuries as a result of the fire," Mayoral said."It's possible somebody is going to complain about inhaling some ofthis smoke, but as of now we haven't gotten any complaints ofbreathing problems."
The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.
Ashland Distribution, which has headquarters in Kentucky, supplieschemicals, plastics, resins, rubber, adhesives, inks and coatingmaterial throughout North America and all over the world, includingChina.
Established in 1924 as a petroleum refining company, Ashland hasbecome one of the leading distributors of thermoplastics, which canbe highly flammable.
E-mail Peter Fimrite at pfimrite@sfchronicle.com .