BUTLER COUNTY —One person was injured in an early Friday morning fire in Andover.
Just after 1 a.m. Friday, emergency personnel responded to a fire at the Sherwin-Williams plant, 630 East 13th Street, near Interstate35, according to a media release.
The fire occurred in one of the facility’s outbuildings and not the main plant. Crews first on the scene observed visible smoke but no active flames. The fire was contained within a steel tank.
Firefighters, working closely with a chemist from Sherwin-Williams, took several hours to develop a plan for safely extinguishing the fire. Once the plan was in place, they successfully extinguished the fire in just 15 minutes at approximately 5:30 a.m.
The fire was contained within a steel tank throughout the event and involved hazardous materials. While the smoke produced was hazardous, it was carried away and dissipated by southern winds.
There was no material runoff from the site, and no hazardous substances were released into the environment beyond the dissipating smoke.
One Sherwin-Williams employee sustained minor burns in which were treated at the scene, and the individual was released shortly thereafter.
Interstate 35 was temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure.
The situation remains under investigation, and Andover Fire-Rescue is working closely with Sherwin-Williams to determine the cause of the fire. Andover Fire-Rescue remained on site to monitor the situation but there was and is no threat to the public.