Henryetta Mayor On What's Next After Glass Plant Explosion

Workers will be returning to the Anchor Glass Plant in Henryetta after a fire and explosion Wednesday night. Many in the town are wondering what comes next.

Henryetta Mayor Jennifer Clason says she remembers the first thought that ran through her mind.

"First off was my brothers working, my nephew is working, lots of friends working, lots of family members that are out there," said Clason.

When she heard about the explosion and fire at the Anchor Glass Plant. The Mayor says seeing the flames shooting up into the sky was scary.

"You see flames shooting out you see what looks like a volcano shooting up into the sky"

No one was injured but now the task turns to assessing the damage, an important task for a company that means so much to the local economy. Clason says the plant is one of  Henryetta’s biggest employers.

"They pay significant wages and so that’s what draws people into our city and want to be in our city and Anchor is an icon to this city."

People who work in Henryetta say the plant is like the lifeline of the city. Phil Agee and his Wife Diana have owned this furniture store in the downtown area for more than 40 years.

"I think that any type of a business that has a number of employees is a benefit to this town, I mean we've lost a lot of things here in the past and to lose another factory like that would be a terrible happening," said Agee.

In the meantime, the company says it expects some production to resume in the next day or two and says they intend to restore the plant to full capacity as soon as possible.

The Mayor will be taking a tour tomorrow to assess the damage and to see where everything stands.