Chemical fire sparked in downtown business

  • Beaumont first responders at Ohmstede Industrial Services July 16
    Beaumont first responders at Ohmstede Industrial Services July 16
  • An acetyline tank burns at Ohmstede Industrial Services July 16
    An acetyline tank burns at Ohmstede Industrial Services July 16
  • July 16
    July 16
  • July 16
    July 16

Police and firefighters were called to Ohmstede Industrial Services in downtown Beaumont around 2 p.m. June 16 after a fire broke out in one of the company's buildings on Pine Street.

Officers blocked off the I-10 entry ramp from downtown as firefighters devised a strategy for dousing the flame, which started after the top of a acetyline tank was knocked off. Ohmstede employees on site at the time of the fire said they weren't sure how the tank's top was removed, but that was how the fire began. No one was injured.