Nikole Babb, nbabb@cherryroad.com

Around 1:15am, first responders were dispatched to the report of a fire at the Sherwin-Williams plant located in Andover at 630 E 13th St. Upon arrival personnel observed only smoke but no visible flames in one of the outbuildings.

According to a release sent out by the City of Andover, the fire was found to be contained within a steel tank for the entire time of the incident. Firefighters spent the next several hours devising a plan to safely extinguish the fire. Thanks to working closely with a chemist from Sherwin-Williams, Andover Fire-Rescue was able to eliminate the fire in just 15 minutes 5:30am.

During the fire, I-35 was shut down temporarily as a precaution but has been reopened. One Sherwin-Williams employee sustained minor burns from the incident, which were treated on scene by Butler EMS and the employee was released afterwards.

The fire was reported to involve hazardous materials, which produced hazardous smoke. The City says the smoke was carried away by and dissipated by southern winds and no material runoff was created from the site. No substances were reported to be released into the environment aside from the smoke. The fire was reported to be contained outside of the main plant.

The fire is being investigated, and Andover Fire-Rescue is working closely with Sherwin-Williams to determine the cause of the fire. Crew will remain on site to monitor the situation. The City reiterated that there was and is no threat to the public.