Large chemical fire near Waxahachie forces evacuation (VIDEO)

Fire has broken out at a chemical plant in Waxahachie, Texas sending a column of thick smoke into the sky, and has caused the evacuation of plant workers, families, and students, reports CNN.

The fire started at a Magnablend Inc. chemical warehouse. The company stores and mixes ammonia and other chemicals for industries such as agriculture, oil, water treatment and construction.

According to the Midlothian Fire Department, chemicals had been released in the fire, however more details were not available.

"Everyone's out safe," said Donald Golden, the environmental health and safety manager for the company.

An 8 block radius has been cleared after officers at the scene mandated an evacuation. The fire started around 10:30 Central time, and has set into place a shelter in place advisory for some of the nearby towns.

The nearby Wedgeworth Elementary school and Navarro College's Waxahacie campus has also been evacuated. While Southwestern Assemblies of God University has not been evacuated, but is keeping people indoors, according to CNN.

"Fire departments were on the scene pretty quickly, but it [the blaze] just seemed to take off and accelerate pretty quickly," he told KTVT, reports CBS News.

Because the blaze is so strong, firefighters are being held back. Fire crews have decided to let the fire burn itself out, reports CBS News.

The Environmental Protection Agency, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has sent teams to the area so that they can monitor the air quality.

"It'll be some time later this afternoon before we have monitoring data from those air monitors, but the agency is on the way and will support the emergency responders at the scene of the fire," Dave Barry from the EPA explained.  

Watch a video of a firetruck engulfed in flames: