July 15 (UPI) -- A series of explosions set off by a fire at a Dow Chemical plant near Baton Rouge, La., prompted shelter-in-place warnings for areas residents before it was lifted later on Saturday.
The first explosion was reported at 9:30 p.m. Friday in Plaquemine, La., with at least six further blasts, Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi told WBRZ.
The shelter-in-place order then went into effect, affecting some 350 homes in Plaquemine, part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area.
Explosions and orange flames could be seen high up into the night sky over the area, with several videos posted on social media.
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The explosions came following a fire at the plant's Gylcol 2 Unit, the company later confirmed, adding there were no injuries from the incident.
Nearby roads have also reopened.
All of the plant's employees and personnel had been accounted for on Friday.
"Crews have substantially reduced the fire and are working to fully extinguish it. Dow, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and a third-party company conducted air monitoring throughout the night and did not detect any community impact. Air monitoring is ongoing," the company said in a statement to WAFB.
"Dow is committed to high operational and safety practices that consistently meet or exceed regulations and applicable laws. Dow and local officials will conduct a full review to understand the cause of this incident."
A separate facility on the same Dow property suffered a chlorine leak last year.
A fire led to the leak at the time, forcing a shelter in place order across the area.
