This article was originally published in The Examiner on April 20, 2017.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
Port Arthur firefighters responded to a “hot spot” fire on top of a silo at German Pellets in the Port of Port Arthur on Saturday.
The fire started about 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 15 on top of silo number two, City of Port Arthur spokesperson LaRisa Carpenter said in a news release.
“The Port Arthur Fire Department followed German Pellet’s response procedures, and the situation was continuously monitored overnight by Port Arthur Fire Department and German Pellets,” she said.
Firefighters did not immediately determine the cause of the fire.
“[About] 6 a.m. Sunday morning, a significant temperature spike occurred, igniting the organic material in the silo,” Carpenter said. “The Port Arthur Fire Department immediately extinguished the flare up, and began cooling the roof of the silo with water to reduce the temperature.”
When the silo fire started flaring up, Port Arthur firefighters called for help from the Sabine-Neches Chief’s Association, she said. The Port Neches Fire Department came immediately with another ladder truck and arrived by 7 a.m.
“The City of Port Arthur and the Port Arthur Fire Department, along with other local resources including the Sabine-Neches Chiefs’ Association, Port Neches Fire Department, Motiva Enterprises, The Port of Port Arthur, and Acadian Ambulance Services, worked jointly with German Pellets to maintain the silo’s temperature and extinguish the hot spot,” Carpenter said.
Eleanor Skelton 