A large chemical storage warehouse caught fire in the Guangzhou Development Zone Sunday morning. The flame raged through four neighboring plants, causing a series of explosions. It took 34 fire engines nearly six hours to extinguish the blaze and a total of 460 people were evacuated.

A large chemical storage warehouse caught fire in the Guangzhou,Guangdong Province Sunday morning.

The blast occurred in a warehouse opposite Dongxin Market in the eastern area of the development zone. The flame then spread to a row of storage facilities, a molding plant, a furniture shop, and other warehouses, devouring an area of 500 square meters.

A worker in a processing factory first detected the fire at 10:20 AM. "We all kept on working as usual. We thought the fire would soon be put out since it started with just a light white smoke," recalled the worker.

However, the smoke let forth a huge "bang" after less than 20 minutes. Processing workers stood at the gate of their workshop, stunned by the showering flakes. Only the throng of workers pouring out of the warehouse reminded them to run.

"The warehouse was used to store oil barrels, so open flame is strictly prohibited. Workers were all required to hand in cell phones, lighters, and cigarettes when they came to work," said one worker. "The fire was really a surprise."

In the early afternoon, liquid gas barrels, paint barrels and auto parts all contributed to seven explosions within 10 minutes.

A large chemical storage warehouse caught fire in the Guangzhou,Guangdong Province Sunday morning. It took firemen six hours to extinguish the fire.

The first batch of firemen arrived immediately but work was hampered by poorly formed hydrant plugs. Six plugs with insufficient water deterred the whole operation for hours and the fire was finally extinguished at 4:30 PM.

No injuries were reported according to a hospital source. The investigation of the cause is underway.

Although the fire has been put out, local residents are haunted by the fear of environmental pollution incurred by burning chemicals. Most of the damaged warehouses were used to store chemical materials.

"I felt dizzy after I inhaled the black smoke surrounding my apartment. There must have been something in it," said a worried girl with red-spotted arms. During the fire fighting, some blue liquid spilled out and forced firemen to do an emergency cleaning. "We didn't wear gloves and we had to wash quickly for fear that the liquid might rot our hands," said a fireman.

A fireman shows his hands tainted by some blue liquid.

But the local environmental department assured residents that the formaldehyde concentrations in the air were within national standards, imposing no harm to human health.

(China.org.cn by Huang Shan, September 24, 2007)