Emergency services received a call at 11:47 BST on Thursday reporting a fire in a chemical lab in the David Keir building on Stranmillis Road.

Six fire engines, two "specialist appliances" and a mobile command unit went to the incident.

An investigation is under way to determine how the fire started.

In a statement, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue service said: "Fire crews dealt with a fire in a chemical storeroom of a laboratory on the third floor of the four-storey building.

"It was quite a challenging incident for firefighters to deal with due to the extensive size of the building and the nature of what was involved in the fire."

"Fire crews ventilated the building and the incident was dealt with at 16:10 BST. Early indications would suggest the fire was accidental."

No-one was injured during the alert. A spokesman for QUB said it was too early to say what caused the fire and that a storeroom had been extensively damaged.

A CHEMICAL company was fined €300,000 yesterday over an explosion at a plant in which a worker was killed.

Liam Nodwell (58) died after suffering burns to 90pc of his body in a huge explosion on April 28, 2008, at the Corden PharmaChem plant in Little Island, Cork.

His burns were so bad that the ambulance that brought the dying man to Cork University Hospital later had to be taken out of service by the HSE and decontaminated.

Yesterday, Liam's brother and sister, Jimmy and Sheila Nodwell, told the Irish Independent nothing would ever make up for the loss of a devoted father, husband, brother and friend.

"He was a father figure to all of us -- he was a marvellous, kind, devoted man. He was worth 10 times €300,000. That's all we can say," they said.

Corden was fined €300,000 and ordered to pay costs of €72,000 after what Judge Patrick Moran at Cork Circuit Criminal Court said was "a very serious (safety) breach".

Mr Nodwell of Church Hill, Glanmire, died just hours after the explosion, which blew apart sections of the firm's Production Block II facility.

A second employee -- James O'Sullivan -- suffered multiple injuries but survived.

A civil action is understood to be still ongoing.

Corden pleaded guilty to four different breaches of health and safety regulations.

The company expressed its regrets and sympathies to the Nodwell family on their loss.

A pharmaceutical company has pleaded guilty to four breaches of health and safety legislation following a chemical explosion at its plant in Cork that claimed the life of one employee and led to serious injury to another.

Corden Pharma Ltd, trading as Corden Pharmachem Ltd with registered offices at South Mall, Cork, pleaded guilty to the four charges relating to the explosion at its plant at Little Island, Co Cork, on April 28th, 2008.

Father-of-one Liam Nodwell (58) from Glanmire on the outskirts of Cork city was fatally injured.

His workmate Jimmy O’Sullivan was seriously injured in the chemical explosion which happened in a process reactor on the 20-acre site.

Yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, company director Patrick Burke pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to the four breaches of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 when the company was arraigned on the charges.

Corden Pharma Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety and prevention of risk to health at work in that it failed to implement control measures to control an emission from a chemical reaction leading to the death of Mr Nodwell and injury to Mr O’Sullivan.

AN ARMY BOMB disposal team was deployed to the Malahide Road at Dublin 17 earlier today after an unstable chemical was discovered at a laboratory.
The team arrived on the scene at Teagasc on the Malahide Road at about 4pm. The unstable chemical, called Picric Acid, had been found during a routine audit of the lab.
It was removed to waste ground and a controlled explosion was carried out to make the substance safe.

An Army Bomb Disposal Team made safe a quantity of unstable Dinitrophenylhydrazine at Scoil Caitriona, Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11 this morning.

The Defence Forces deployed the team to the school, where the unstable chemical had been found during a routine audit of chemicals at the laboratory.

The team arrived on scene at 11am and removed the chemical from the building. The Bomb Disposal Team carried out a controlled explosion in order to make the chemical safe.

The scene was declared safe at 12.20pm.

Dinitrophenylhydrazine is a chemical re-agent and is routinely used in laboratories but can crystallise and become unstable and sensitive to heat or friction.

This is the 27th call-out for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams in 2012 and the first dealing with a hazardous material.

Two people have been injured in a explosion at an gas bottling plant on the outskirts of Cork city this morning.

The explosion happened at the Irish Oxygen plant at Waterfall around 11.20am when it's understood an acetylene cylinder exploded.

Five units of Cork City and Ballincollig Fire Brigade and four HSE ambulances, as well as three other HSE emergency vehicles including an advanced paramedic also responded to the accident.

Several fire engine crews from Dublin Fire Brigade rushed to Dublin Port on the evening of 20 November after a highly dangerous chemical began leaking from a giant storage tank.


The emergency incident was reported at 9pm when ammonium nitrate was detected to be leaking from a tank at the port terminal at Breakwater Road South.


A large number of tenders went to the area and the district was cordoned off as terminal staff and fire fighters worked to make the area safe and stop the leak. The cordon was lifted later when the leak was successfully fixed.

AN ARMY BOMB disposal team was called out to deal with an unstable chemical at a science facility in Dungarvan, Co Waterford this afternoon.
The unit were alerted after a quantity of picric acid was discovered during an audit at Lancaster Laboratories in the town. Arriving on scene at 3.45pm, they were able to remove the chemical to nearby waste ground.
Specialists then carried out a controlled explosion to make the chemical safe. The scene was declared safe at 4.20pm.

An unstable acid was made safe by the Defence Forces at a Waterford laboratory yesterday.

The bomb disposal team was called to Lancaster Laboratories in Dungarvan due to concerns over picric acid.

The team arrived at 3.30pm and removed the chemical to waste ground where they carried out a controlled explosion. The area was declared safe by 4.40pm. Picric acid is routinely used in labs but over time it can crystallise and become unstable.

ARMY BOMB DISPOSAL experts have made safe an unstable chemical after sealing off several streets near St Stephen’s Green in Dublin.
The military unit was called in to the Catholic University School on Lower Leeson Street, after a quantity of picric acid was found. The bomb disposal team removed the chemical to a nearby piece of open ground, then carried out a controlled explosion.
Traffic was stopped in the area as the unit arrived at 4.15pm. The scene was declared safe at 6.10pm.
According to the Defence Forces, the substance was discovered during a routine audit of chemicals held in the school’s science department. Picric acid is a reagent which is routinely used in laboratories, but over time it can crystallise and become unstable.
It has caused a number of alerts in recent weeks, including some at schools in Limerick and Celbridge, and the offices of the pharmaceutical regulator in Dublin. The Leeson Street incident is the 21st time this year that the unit has dealt with dangerous substances, and its 186th call-out since January.

THE IRISH DEFENCE Forces have carried out controlled explosions on dangerous chemicals discovered in two schools in Dublin and Cork today.
The Forces’ Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to Grange Community College in Donaghmede, Dublin just after 2pm this afternoon after a quantity of 2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine was discovered.
2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine is a chemical reagent which is found in laboratories.
It is relatively sensitive to shock and friction and can become unstable over time if it crystallises.
The quantity of the chemical was removed from the school to a safe location, where it was destroyed by means of a controlled explosion and the scene was declared safe at 3.30pm.
In a second incident, the Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to St Mary’s Secondary School in Macroom, Co Cork at around 3pm after another quantity of 2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine was discovered.
Again, the chemical was removed to a safe located and destroyed by a controlled explosion.
Today’s call outs were the 185th and 186th this year, and the 20th and 21st involving what the Defence Forces call “substances of concern”.

An army bomb disposal team has carried out a controlled explosion on a chemical substance found in the science lab of a Co Limerick school.
The army was called to St Enda's Community School on the Kilmallock Road after a quantity of picric acid was found during a routine audit of chemicals in the school.
Picric Acid is routinely used in laboratories but can become unstable and sensitive to heat and shock over time.

An Army Bomb Disposal Team has made safe an unstable chemical found at a secondary school in Co Limerick.
Coláiste Iosaef in Kilmallock was evacuated at around 11.30am following the discovery of a hazardous substance in the science laboratory during a routine audit of chemicals.
The bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion on the unstable chemical, Dinitrophenylhydrazine.
Dinitrophenylhydrazine is a chemical re-agent and is routinely used in laboratories but can crystallise and become unstable over time.

An Army Bomb Disposal team made safe a quantity of unstable chemicals at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Celbridge, Co. Kildare this evening.

The Defence Forces deployed the team to the laboratory where the chemical, picric acid, had been found during a routine audit of chemicals.

The team arrived on scene at 5pm and removed the chemical to nearby waste ground. The team carried out a controlled explosion in order to make the chemical safe.

Picric Acid is a chemical re-agent and is routinely used in laboratories but can crystallise and become unstable over time.

THE IRISH DEFENCE Forces had to carry out a controlled explosion today after an unstable chemical was found at the offices of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) in Dublin this morning.
An Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to the offices of the PSI, which regulates pharmacy services in Ireland, on Shrewsbury Road after the unstable chemical Picric Acid was found this morning.

An Army bomb disposal team has made safe unstable chemicals found at Ashbourne Community College.

The Defence Forces deployed the team to the Co.Meath school after the chemical 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine had been found during a routine audit in the school lab.

The team removed the chemical to waste ground.

The bomb disposal team then carried out a controlled explosion.

The scene was declared safe at 10.35am.

2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine is used in laboratories, but can crystallise and become unstable over time.

An Army Bomb Disposal Team made safe a quantity of unstable picric acid at Institute of Technology Tralee this afternoon.

The Defence Forces deployed the team to ITT where the unstable chemical had been found during a routine audit of chemicals in a Science Laboratory.

The team arrived on scene at 11.45am and removed the chemical to waste ground.

The Bomb Disposal Team carried out a controlled explosion in order to make the chemical safe. The scene was declared safe at 1pm.

Picric acid is a chemical re-agent and is routinely used in laboratories but can crystallise and become unstable over time.

This is the 143rd call out for the Army Bomb Disposal Teams this year and the 11th substance of concern safely disposed of.

An Army bomb disposal team made safe a quantity of unstable picric acid in Killmallock, Co Limerick this morning.

The Defence Forces deployed the team to a retail premises on Sheare St. where a quantity of the unstable chemical had been found during a routine audit of chemicals.

Picric acid is a chemical re-agent and is frequently used in laboratories but can crystallise and become unstable over time.

The team arrived on scene at 10.30am and the substance was made safe via a controlled explosion. The area was declared safe at 11.40am

There was panic at St Luke’s Hospital on Tuesday as the Hospital Internal Emergency Plan was activated in Kilkenny.

The plan was activated in response to a chemical reaction incident in a room adjoining Surgical Ward 2. Nobody was injured although the fire brigade was called to deal with the episode.

It understood that the incident did not relate to a chemical spill but rather an incident involving fumes in a chemical waste bin.

The bin was located in a washroom next to the surgery ward. Fire services were able to remove it from the hospital before treating it outside by pouring water on it.

The chemical is said to have been chlorine which is used for disinfection and it’s believed that it reacted with something else in the bin.

Over 30 patients were temporarily moved from a ward of St Luke’s General Hospital in Co Kilkenny following a chemical scare this afternoon.

The incident happened shortly after 1.15pm when a chemical reaction in a bin containing cleaning agents caused alarm over the spreading of fumes. The 31 patients were moved as a precaution after the hospital’s internal emergency plan was enforced and the services of the fire brigade sought.

A spokesman for Kilkenny fire brigade said the chemical was contained in a bin in a washroom next to the surgery ward. Fire services were able to remove it from the hospital before treating it outside by pouring copious amounts of water on it.

He said the chemical in question was a type of chlorine used for disinfection that had reacted with something else in the bin.

An Army Bomb Disposal Team were called to Stratford College in Terenure, Dublin today following a dangerous chemical being found in the school laboratory.

The team arrived on scene at 2.55pm and removed a quantity of the chemical 2.4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine, which can become unstable over time, from the school grounds.

The chemical was removed to a nearby green area where a controlled explosion was carried out.

WORKERS HAD to be evacuated from a factory in Co Clare early yesterday after 250 litres of sulphuric acid were accidentally spilled inside the plant.

The alarm was raised at about 6.30am when staff reported the spill in a storage area at the rear of an Essilor Ireland plant on the outskirts of Ennis.

The company, known as Organic Lens Manufacturing, produces ophthalmic corrective lenses and is located in the Gort Road industrial estate where it employs more than 300 workers.

About 50 staff were working at the time and they were quickly evacuated to emergency meeting points outside the plant where management carried out a roll call to ensure that everyone was accounted for. The company’s emergency response team was deployed pending arrival of the emergency services.

Investigations are under way after a "serious incident" involving the possible release of toxic chemicals at a Dublin plant.

An emergency containment plan was put in place at the Arch Chemical plant on Watery Lane in Swords, Co Dublin, shortly after 5pm last night.

Investigations involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Health and Safety Authority, the gardai and Dublin Fire Brigade are now in operation.

Some 13 units of the Dublin Fire Brigade were dispatched to the scene along with a hazardous material unit.

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They were alerted after an anti-fungal material called copper pyrithione or copper omadine was discharged at the plant after a boiler overheated.

The powder is considered to be highly toxic. It can be fatal if inhaled and can also burn the eyes. After a thorough sweep of the plant it was declared safe by 8.30pm last night.

An Army bomb disposal unit today carried out a controlled explosion on an unstable chemical at a laboratory in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.

Authorities at the college on St Stephen's Green contacted the emergency services shortly before 12.30pm after an internal audit of the lab found the chemical had degraded to a dangerous state.

Following an examination of the chemical by the bomb disposal team, the chemical was deemed unsafe to transport and was subsequently made safe through a controlled explosion on nearby waste ground.

The offending material is understood to have been 30g of picric acid, a potentially explosive substance which is commonly used by laboratories in the analysis of metals and ores.

When the substance goes beyond a certain timeframe, it can become dangerous to transport.