Asphalt Tanker Bursts Into Flames At Industrial Plant In Camden County
GLOUCESTER CITY, N.J. (CBS) - A massive fire and explosion at an industrial plant rocked a Camden County neighborhood overnight. Firefighters tell Eyewitness News an asphalt tanker at Blueknight Energy, an asphalt mixing plant in Gloucester City, went up in flames around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
On the scene of an early morning fire at Blueknight energy. An asphalt tank went up reportedly around 1am. Faint smell, nothing overpowering. Crews continue to douse the tank but you can see how damaged it is pic.twitter.com/oLfxKU16DQ
— Dan Koob (@SporttradeKoob) June 30, 2020
Crews arrived to investigate a hazmat situation and nearby homes were evacuated.
Download The New And Improved CBS Philly App!
An explosive fire and plumes of smoke could be seen in the air as the fire raged on for several hours. Smoke could be seen heading west towards South Philly.
#Breaking: Huge fire at Blueknight Energy Plant in Gloucester City, NJ. The facility stores liquid asphalt & is directly across the river from S. Philly. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/B8YJ0ViUx1
— Steve Lindsay (@SteveLindsayCBS) June 30, 2020
The fire was contained after about three to four hours. Flames did not spread to any other tanker.
Fire officials say they're in contact with Blueknight Energy to make sure the other tanks are not compromised.
"Not at this point. We know the company does offload into other tanks on a regular basis but the cause is under investigation," Gloucester City Fire Department Battalion Chief Desmond Chiodi said. "We are working closely with them at this time. We're going to keep in coordination with them for the next 24 hours period as we continue to overhaul the tank."
Fire officials also say they are not worried about fumes and that they were extinguished with the fire.
There were no reported injuries.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
CBS3's Dan Koob contributed to this report.