Texas Ammunition Warehouse Catches Fire

PASADENA, Texas --

A fire burned for hours at a Pasadena ammunition warehouse early Friday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

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Pasadena firefighters said the fire started in the back of the warehouse on Shaver Street near Spencer Highway at about 2 a.m.

Investigators said an employee was melting lead when the fire started. He escaped from the building without injury and called 911.

"There were numerous live rounds of ammunition inside the building, they were going off," said Mark Beaver of the Pasadena Fire Department. "That caused us to go to a defensive-type fire right away."

Hazardous materials crews went to the scene to deal with the chemicals inside and monitor the air quality.

Investigators said sodium cyanide was in the building. They are working to determine if that chemical played a role in the fire's ignition.

It took crews about three hours to contain the fire.

Residents at Shaver Landing apartment complex were evacuated and taken to South Houston High School.

"When I wake up I heard boom and explosions," evacuee Lenor Vasquez said. "I went and look at it and the flame was going."

A shelter-in-place was issued for Pasadena and Deer Park for a short time.

Many nearby streets were closed to traffic while crews battled the blaze.

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