Chemical plant fire injures 1, causes evacuation and highway closure

One person was injured, scores of people were evacuated and part of U.S. Highway 190 near Port Allen is closed by a fire at a plant that refills acetylene cylinders. Air Liquide spokesman George Smalley says a worker suffered a minor injury. He says the fire is in a yard where empty cylinders are kept at Air Liquide Specialty Gases. Acetylene, a chemical typically used in welding torches, is trucked to the plant. Smalley says he doesn’t know how many cylinders caught fire. State police Capt. Doug Cain says residents and businesses within a mile of the plant were evacuated. He says about 60 people are at evacuation centers in Port Allen and Erwinville as of this afternoon. The fire broke out about 10:30 a.m. today at the plant in West Baton Rouge Parish and was still burning in early afternoon. Air Liquide is an international producer of gases used in industry and health care. The company’s website says its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon and rare gases. Its headquarters are in Paris. State environmental authorities say they are monitoring air quality.