A huge plume of black smoke containing dangerous chemicals forced the evacuation of more than 70 Leetsdale homes and prompted several schools in Beaver and Allegheny counties to keep students indoors Tuesday.

Hundreds of firefighters spent most of the day battling a five-alarm fire at Leetsdale Industrial Park along Route 65. A building owned by Lubrizol Corp., an oilfield chemicals business, was heavily damaged by an explosion and fire that quickly spread to another building.

Eight people, including firefighters, were treated for minor injuries.

“As soon as I saw it, I took a picture, because it looks like something you see in the news,” said resident Michelle Frizzell. “It didn't look like something you'd see down the street. It started getting blacker and blacker.”

The smoke billowed for hours as firefighters worked to contain the fire and hazmat crews stood ready. Authorities warned motorists to avoid the normally busy highway running alongside the Ohio River, and weather forecasters noted the smoke was showing up on radar. The state Department of Environmental Protection sent an inspector to the site.

County Health Department Director Karen Hacker said wind dissipated the smoke and helped to minimize the public risk. But she encouraged anyone “experiencing trouble breathing or intense coughing, especially those with an existing chronic condition,” to seek medical attention.

Frizzell and her neighbors on nearby Washington Street were evacuated to Quaker Valley High School until late afternoon because officials were concerned about the amount of smoke and the chemicals it carried.

Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Alvin Henderson said the plume contained ammonium persulfate and sodium chlorite, which can cause respiratory problems.

Quaker Valley School District evacuated administrators from offices in the industrial park to the high school, where after-school activities were canceled, spokeswoman Angela Yingling said.

As the smoke moved toward Beaver County, emergency officials there urged Hopewell Area School District to dismiss high school students early, according to Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs. Schools in Aliquippa were encouraged to keep students indoors until health officials said otherwise. Ambridge Area School District canceled after-school activities.

Frizzell said she was on her way home from the grocery store when she was turned away by emergency crews. They were driving up the street with a loudspeaker, telling people in the 72 homes along Washington Street to evacuate.

Despite warnings about the chemical fire, residents and business owners stopped to look at the flames, she said.

“There were so many people parked outside, watching what was going on,” Frizzell said. “My first thought was, ‘What are we breathing in?' ”

It will take Lubrizol and investigators with the county fire marshal's office several days to determine the cause of the fire, Downs said.

Lubrizol said the fire began “during the process of adding chemicals used in (hydraulic) fracturing to a production tank.” The company said in a statement that “maintaining the health and safety of our employees, customers and neighbors is a basic tenet of our company.”

A worker called 911 four minutes after the first alarm shortly after 10 a.m., reporting “an explosion with fire,” Henderson said. Fire spread from the Lubrizol building to a second building by about 12:30 p.m. One building was deemed a total loss; the other was heavily damaged by fire, water and smoke.

Flames threatened six other buildings in the industrial park, prompting firefighters to spray them with water.

Even when the fire was extinguished, the building was too hot to enter. “There are a lot of superheated areas in a large metal building,” Henderson said.

The injured included one worker with chemical burns and several people with chest pains, officials said. Four who were taken to hospitals were treated and released; the others were treated at the scene.

It was not the first time a chemical reaction at the facility prompted a mass evacuation.

In May 2010, high humidity caused a reaction in equipment that blended a chemical used for gas drilling, forming a cloud that forced the evacuation of about 500 workers for several hours. One worker was treated for chemical exposure.

County health officials said they found no evidence of negligence by Weatherford International, which owned the facility at that time.

Elizabeth Behrman and Bobby Cherry are Trib Total Media staff writers. Staff writer David Conti contributed.

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