Asphalt Plant Spill Catches Fire South of Detroit

RIVER ROUGE, Mich. - A large pile of paving-grade asphalt caught fire Tuesday morning, sending billows of thick, black smoke into the air near an industrial area in Romulus.

Curt Robinson is terminal manager at Michigan Marine Terminal in River Rouge and said the paving-grade asphalt in a 70-square-yard area went up in flames Tuesday morning during a cleanup. It had spilled from a leak in May at the property.

An oil storage tank on the property also exploded.

Nearby resident Martin Eglar said he saw a lot of black smoke coming from the park at about 9:15. and then he heard a large explosion.

Authorities said nobody was injured during the accident, and a cause wasn't immediately known.

Hazardous materials, environmental and emergency crews responded and said the fire did not pose a health risk to the community.

The area near the Detroit River also includes chemical refineries, steel plants and other industrial facilities.

"They got it under control real quick, which is good, because if it would have spread it could have been way worse than what it was," said onlooker Rico Eady.

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