Smoke from Monday night’s fire at Lubrizol in Paso Robles rises from the plant’s tank farm.
The investigation into a chemical fire Monday at a Paso Robles company remained open Tuesday, but fire officials do not suspect it was caused intentionally.
City fire investigators were looking for clues to what caused chemical storage tanks at Lubrizol, formerly Noveon Inc., to catch fire at 7:25 p. m.
The tanks, near the company’s main building, contained ammonia, sodium hydroxide, alcohol and coconut oil. Eleven tanks were damaged by the fire and rendered unusable. Insurance assessors are expected to determine the value lost this week.
Damage from the fire was not visible from Airport Road or Propeller Drive on Tuesday, and workers were on the job as usual — although many had been diverted to the cleanup effort.
The company is located in the northeastern corner of a cluster of commercial-industrial businesses near the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.
A secretary at the company promised to release information about the incident to the public Tuesday, but no such communication had been received by the evening.
Airport manager Roger Oxborrow and Ken Johnson, the city’s emergency services chief, said this is only the second incident in decades involving the chemical company, and a previous plugged air vent that released chemicals into the air happened more than a decade ago.
Oxborrow’s said his perception is that the company takes the health and safety of its employees and the public seriously.
Johnson said the city conducts regular inspections at the plant.
“As far as I’m concerned, they have a phenomenal safety record,” he said.
The Tribune submitted a public information request to the county Environmental Health Services division Tuesday for information about any past inspections or safety violations at the company. Officials with the county division did not respond to the request.
According to Johnson, firefighters benefited from favorable northeasterly winds Monday night, which blew the acrid smoke from the blaze away from nearby residences, and the fast response of firefighters from nearby communities. More than 80 firefighters arrived at the scene.
The fire was contained by 9:15 p. m. Damage included exterior tanks, piping and other equipment. The fire did not reach the main building of the chemical plant. Workers were evacuated
from the plant,” Johnson said, but no one was injured. One firefighter was treated at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton for smoke inhalation, then released.
Noveon, formerly a part of Chemron, was sold to Lubrizol by San Luis Obispo entrepreneur Bill Frost several years ago. Lubrizol is a Midwestern-based company that makes chemicals for a wide range of uses and products, including graphic arts.
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