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Fire Rages at French Chemical Plant; Schools Closed

Associated Press

   PARIS - An immense mass of black smoke is rising over Normandy as
   firefighters battle a blaze Thursday at a chemical plant, and
   authorities closed schools in 11 surrounding towns and asked residents
   to stay indoors.

   The fire poses a pollution risk for the nearby Seine River, the
   government's top official for the region said Thursday, according to
   the French news service AFP.

   "We're still fighting the blaze, with the risk that pollution could
   spill into the Seine if retention ponds overflow," Pierre-Andre Durand
   told journalists.

   No injuries have been reported and French Interior Minister Christophe
   Castaner said on RTL radio "there is no element that could lead us to
   believe that the smoke is dangerous."

   But authorities are taking precautionary measures and carrying out air
   quality tests as about 200 firefighters work to extinguish the fire.

   The administration for the Seine-Maritime region urged people to avoid
   non-essential travel in the area after the fire alarm rang at the
   Lubrizol plant in Rouen early Thursday. The Interior Ministry tweeted
   that schools and nurseries in the area have been closed, and residents
   in nursing homes are being confined.

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