October 3, 2011 - Waxahachie, Texas: Fire broke out at a chemical plant in Waxahachie, Texas, on Monday, sending a thick column of black smoke high into the sky and forcing the evacuation of an eight-block radius around the plant."Everybody is out and safe," Donald Golden, environmental health and safety manager for Magnablend Inc., the plant's owner, said of employees and visitors to the plant.

There was no immediate word on the cause on the fire, which began at around 10:30 a.m., Golden said.
Officials ordered the evacuation of a school, apartment building and other industrial sites within an eight-block radius of the plant, said Diana Buckley, an official with Ellis County government. A shelter-in-place advisory is in effect for some smaller nearby towns northwest of the city, including Red Oak, she said.

The plant stores and mixes numerous chemicals, said Amy Hollywood, a city spokeswoman.