STERLING, Kan. — Fire crews from all around Rice and Reno Counties were called out to Jacam 
Chemical Company Thursday morning for a major structure fire.
Gregg Klein, Director of Rice County Emergency Management, says the fire started around 9 a.m. at one of the plant’s outer buildings. Some evacuations were suggested for properties just north of the facility and Klein says air quality around the plant will be monitored for the next 24 hours, but the materials that were inside the building were non-toxic.
Laura Snyder, spokesperson for Jacam, says the building involved was used to produce what is called “organophilic clay,” which is a dry powder that is mixed with other chemicals to produce drilling mud for the oil industry. While the material is not explosive, it does burn with a lot of heat, according to Snyder.
Snyder and Klein both stated that all procedures were followed during the incident and everyone was accounted for that was inside the building. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is not known at this time.