Employees evacuated due to apparent hazmat situation at General Coatings plant in Fresno

General Coatings employees evacuated Thursday morning due to a potential hazardous materials situation in a building at the facility south of downtown Fresno.

Fresno fire officials said a vat of chemicals overheated at the industrial plant, sending fumes throughout a building. About a dozen workers in the immediate area left the building.

General Coatings, an insulation foam and roof coatings manufacturer, is across from the North Pointe Business Park in the 1200 block of East North Avenue. Employees at nearby Pepsi Co. sheltered in place as officials waited for the fumes to dissipate.

Fresno Fire Department spokesman Robert Castillo said the situation affected a total of about 200 workers.

North Avenue was closed just west of Highway 99 during the evacuation.

The incident was closed by the fire department at 11:21 a.m.

Three years ago, on Dec. 19, 2015, an explosion at the plant nearly caught firefighters in a blinding fireball and ended up being a three-alarm fire.

This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 8:51 AM.