APEX, N.C.-
A fire and a gas release Thursday at a chemical plant prompted evacuation of neighborhoods and forced the closure of streets downtown, authorities said.
Some residents were evacuated, while others were told to remain in their homes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Explosions and a fire occurred at EQ Industrial Services, said Apex town manager Bruce Radford.
“This is a very serious working fire,” he said.
Initial reports indicated the gas was chlorine, but a town spokeswoman couldn’t immediately confirm that.
“We do not know what kind of gas this, so as a precaution, we are evacuating people,” said Beverly Beacham.
The Web site for EQ Industrial Services says the company operates a fleet of specialized industrial cleaning equipment to deal with both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.
Apex is a city of about 28,000 near Raleigh.
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