Emergency responders from two counties were called to an explosion and structure fire at the Hart Metals facility in Tamaqua around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Jeffrey Nichols, vice president and general manager of Luxfer Magtech, which owns the 1415 E. Broad St. company, said no one was injured.

“We have no issues with the people and that is obviously first and foremost for all of us,” he said Thursday morning.

As for property damage, Nicholas said it was minimal.

“There was very little damage and we appreciate the overwhelming response from the local firefighters, ambulance and the whole first responder community,” Nichols said.

John Matz, director of the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency, said he and Deputy John Blickley were notified by 911 when the call was received.

“We monitored the situation throughout but did not respond to the scene.,” Matz said. “The Tamaqua Fire Department and Hart Metals have always maintained an outstanding cooperation. This was apparent last night as the situation was quickly assessed and actions taken by staff and fire department personnel to bring the situation to a safe conclusion.”

The incident closed Route 209, which is also Broad Street, until approximately 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Initial reports were for a fire involving magnesium that caused a tank to explode. Eight employees were ordered to evacuate.

Hart Metals is a manufacturer and supplier of magnesium powders for the U.S. military and other commercial applications. The company has two production-scale inert-gas atomizers for the manufacture of pure magnesium powders.

Hart Metals operates as Magnesium Elektron Powders and is part of the Luxfer Group.