Hazelwood, MO (KMOX)-A fire in a 2,200-gallon asphalt tank at a Hazelwood plant sent thick black smoke into the air near St. Louis Lambert International Airport late Thursday morning. The Hazelwood Fire Department says the tank caught fire and a nearby generator exploded at a business in the 100 block of James S. McDonnell Blvd, east of Lindbergh Blvd, at about 10:52 a.m. No injuries were reported.
The fire started when something malfunctioned while workers were transferring hot asphalt from a railcar into the tank. Battalion Chief Dan Leichenauer says that blew the lid off the tank, which it's designed to do.
"To keep the tank from completely exploding, the top part actually is made to come off," he said. "Unfortunately it damaged the fire suppression system when it did that, which, obviously, they could no longer put out the fire."
The department says all of its units were dispatched to the scene. Surrounding agencies were called in to assist.
While damage was limited to the tank and some equipment, the Department of Natural Resources was called in to make sure no toxic runoff made it into nearby Coldwater creek.