Texas Explosion Lawyer

Flames continued to smolder Tuesday at a chemical distribution center northeast of Des Moines, a day after a fire led to huge explosions and towering clouds of black smoke.

Officials at Barton Solvents Inc. hired private contractors to douse the remaining fires and begin cleanup at the site. They’ll take over from numerous fire agencies that were able to control the blaze overnight after being driven back because of the fire’s intensity.

The fire began Monday afternoon in a warehouse where ethyl acetate was being transferred from an exterior storage tank to a portable tank on the loading dock.

Two employees were transferring the chemical when they saw a spark. They backed away and tried to use a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

The flames quickly spread and the building’s sprinkler system was activated, but was ineffective because of the size of the fire.

One of the workers suffered minor burns on his arms and was treated at the scene. A firefighter was treated at a hospital for heat exhaustion and later released.