Warehouse fire in Plymouth Twp. placed under control

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Sunday, May 17, 2015
VIDEO: Fire destroys warehouse in Plymouth Twp.
A massive warehouse fire overnight in Plymouth Twp., Montgomery County is finally under control after battle that lasted all morning long.

PLYMOUTH TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- A massive warehouse fire overnight in Plymouth Twp., Montgomery County is finally under control after battle that lasted all morning long.

The fire was reported at 3:26 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of Colwell Lane in Plymouth Twp.

The building contained flooring material for the Philadelphia Floor Store and Contex - a window blinds company.

A fire crew was nearby after responding to another call in Conshohocken, and rushed to the scene. They arrived and reported multiple explosions.

Video from the Action Cam showed flames shooting into the sky.

The fire was a rude awakening for those living nearby.

"We were pretty nervous, my wife woke up in a panic. We moved our son out of the back bedroom and into the front. We were ready to leave if we had to," said Scott Ward.

Once the fire was under control, firefighters say the next concern was water runoff.

Fire officials say the warehouse had a dozen or more petroleum based chemicals and runoff from the hoses was entering the storm drain and nearby Plymouth Creek.

"Originally we are trying to collect it and suck it out but we realized that wasn't probably going to work so we are going to try and dump large amounts of fresh water into the storm drain to try and dilute it," said Chief Michael Burton, Plymouth Fire Department.

The State Department of Environmental Protection along with hazmat crews were on scene leading the cleanup.

They don't believe the burned chemicals pose a health risk to nearby residents.

Both businesses were destroyed.

One firefighter suffered a minor hand injury. He was treated at a local hospital and is expected to be okay.

There was no word on how this fire started.