06:02 PM CST on Tuesday, February 7, 2006

By Jeremy Desel / 11 News

Click to watch video from the scene

Click to watch Jeremy Desel's report

An explosion and fire erupted in LaPorte near Hwy. 225 and Battleground Road in southeast Harris County Tuesday afternoon.

At least one person was injured and transported to UTMB by ambulance in fair condition after aluminum oxide powder caught fire at an aluminum handling warehouse, said a spokeswoman for Akzo Nobel Chemicals. She said the injured person was a contractor of the company.

"Looks like the fire is winding down," said Akzo's Debbie Sullivan. "An investigation will take place once we get the fire knocked down and we can get in there and can start looking at things."

The structure was a material handling facility where raw materials are stored in drums.

Witness Toni Reed said she heard explosions, but saw nothing but smoke before leaving the area.

"There were three explosions right in a row. All I could see was smoke. First they told us to shelter in place," said Reed.

Traffic was shut down on Hwy. 225 near Battleground Road due to low visibility. The closure was between Miller Cutoff and Tidal roads.

Sullivan said the fire broke out around 3:25 p.m. and that officials requested the nearby road be closed 15 minutes later. All employees are accounted for, she said.

The La Porte Fire Department was on standby, but the plant's firefighting team handled the blaze. La Porte Police opened an emergency operations center, but no shelter in place or evacuation was issued.