Fire, Explosion Reported at French Specialty Gases Plant

Fire in a tank loading hose triggered an explosion at an Air Liquide specialty gases plant Thursday afternoon in northern France, Service Départemental d'Incendie et de Secours reports.

About 90 firefighters responded to the plant in Douai after the first of several explosions were heard. Thick smoke rising from the plant could be seen for miles.

Comptroller General Gilles Gregoire, Chief of the Northern Fire Department, confirmed to reporters that there were no injuries.

Fire broke out in a loading hose during the transfer of hydrogen from a truck into three tanks equaling 6,000 square meters. Flames spread to the truck and threatened two other trucks nearby before firefighters arrived.

“Our mission was to prevent spread to the entire site,” Gregoire said. “We then cooled the tanks concerned.”