By Associated Press - Friday, June 21, 2019

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) - Florida firefighters have contained a blaze at a tire recycling plant that was heading toward a neighboring chemical plant.

News outlets report the St. Lucie County Fire Department was alerted to the fire early Thursday morning. By late afternoon the fire crew was watching over smoldering rubber, having contained the high-risk flames.

Division Chief Mike Merritt says the blaze started on a conveyor belt at a tire recycling plant in Port Saint Lucie. Wind carrying toxic smoke started spreading toward a nearby chemical plant that holds water treatment chemicals such as chlorine.



The fire crew was able to stop the blaze before it reached the chemical plant.

Merritt says two firefighters were taken to a hospital for heat-related injuries. No plant workers were injured.

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