Employee injured in two-alarm fire at chemical plant in Norfolk

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An employee suffered facial burns in a two-alarm blaze at a chemical plant Thursday afternoon in Norfolk, fire officials said.

Firefighters and a hazmat team responded to Camger Chemical Systems on Main Street shortly after 1:30 p.m. to find smoke billowing from the single-story brick section of the facility, where a mixing room for flammable solutions is located, the Norfolk Fire Department said in a statement.

The facility, described by the Fire Department as an "old mill type construction building," is used to manufacture products including adhesives, sealants, and lacquers. Flammable and combustible liquids are used at the chemical plant to make those products, fire officials said.

In the mixing room, firefighters found the injured employee, who had been involved in mixing the solution where the fire originated, the statement said.

The male worker, who officials have not identified, was taken by a MedFlight helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, said Norfolk Fire Chief Coleman Bushnell.

Norfolk Fire, assisted by departments from Franklin, Wrentham, Foxborough, Walpole, Millis, Plainville, and Medway, were able to get the blaze under control shortly after 2 p.m., the statement said.

Main Street was closed until shortly after 4:30 p.m., fire officials said.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection responded and confirmed that there was no environmental impact from the fire, the chief said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also responded because of the injured worker.

The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the blaze, according to the statement.

The Norfolk Fire Department has long maintained a fire safety plan for the Camger chemical plant, Bushnell said, and employees were familiar with the hazards present at the facility.

"Camger's management works very cooperatively with the (fire) department to ensure the safety of their employees, first responders, and the community," Bushnell said in the statement. "This relationship certainly contributed to preventing a disaster in terms of a more serious fire with environmental impact."