Chemical warehouse fire near Baton Rouge under control; neighborhood remains evacuated

Neighbors of La. chemical fire still evacuated

DENHAM SPRINGS, La. — Firefighters in a Baton Rouge suburb say the blaze that destroyed a chemical warehouse is under control, but the neighborhood remains evacuated.

Joe Czrowski (kahz-ROW-skee) is chairman of the board of Fire Protection District 5 in Livingston Parish. He said crews in full hazmat gear would be going in Wednesday to check on what chemicals remain at the Coco Resources Warehouse, what burned, and to look for hot spots.

Authorities say the blaze rocketed 55-gallon drums into the sky, forced the evacuation of about 200 people and pulled in about 100 firefighters.

Czrowski says the fire was under control by about 9 p.m. Tuesday.

He says homes within a mile of the warehouse were evacuated.

The warehouse was in Denham Springs, about 10 miles from Baton Rouge.