Fire-fighters are still investigating what caused a conveyor belt fire near a cargo ship docked at Port Arthur.
What happened?
The conveyor belt that being used to load German wood pellets onto a ship caught fire according to the PIO.
According to Captain Jimmy Blanchard of the Beaumont Fire Department, “At 3 p.m., Port Arthur fire-fighters arrived at the scene. Additionally, City of Beaumont fire-fighters also helped to put out the flames at the port”.
A witness said he thought it was a fire coming from a refinery at first.
“I saw the black smoke and everything, I knew the refineries are around, and they had been burning the marsh,” said Jeff Paton. “I thought, well that ain’t a marsh burning so I wanted to check it out and I saw the smoke come on this side of the bridge.”
Reason for fire:
There were pellets on a conveyor belt taking them from the silo to a ship when they caught fire, city spokeswoman LaRisa Carpenter said.
The ship crew has appointed a supervisor to be kept on fire watch to make sure the conveyor belt does not flare up again.
The fire was now contained and did not spread to the warehouse, Fire Chief Larry Richard has confirmed.
No injuries:
Fortunately no injuries were reported from the fire.
Port officials released its personnel working in that area in case of an explosion and longshoremen stopped from loading in the area.
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Source: KFDM
