An accidental fire and explosion occurred at an industrial facility in Pasadena, TX on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in one person being taken to the hospital.
The City of Pasadena reported that the fire was put out at INEOS near Beltway 8 and SH 225 by 1:20 p.m. The incident was caused by the unintentional release of liquefied petroleum gas from a tank trailer while it was being offloaded at the facility, which ignited and caused a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.
Witnesses stated that a transfer hose disconnected and released flammable vapors, which caused a sudden release of LPG that was subsequently ignited and consumed in the fire.
Multiple agencies responded to the incident, including the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Fire Marshal’s Office, and Harris County Pollution Control.
The cause of the explosion has been ruled accidental, and air monitoring by the HCPC indicated no detections. However, the entire Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge was briefly shut down as a precaution. The situation is being monitored to ensure there is no threat to public health or safety.
