20 October 2025
By Wesley Muller
Contributing Writer
(lailluminator.com) — Smitty’s Supply Inc. has filed a lawsuit against two companies it blames for the August fire and explosion that destroyed the facility and caused an environmental disaster in Tangipahoa Parish.
The company filed the lawsuit last week in the 21st Judicial District Court in Amite against Fulton Thermal Corp., a New York-based company that manufactures industrial boiler tanks, and J&M Boiler Combustion Control Services of Baton Rouge, which installs and maintains the tanks.
The lawsuit alleges Fulton sold Smitty’s a defective boiler tank, which they call a “thermal fluid heater,” though the pleading does not specify what was wrong with the unit. In the filing, Smitty’s suggests the boiler malfunctioned, exploded and caused the fire.
Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller told the Illuminator in a Sept. 8 interview that the facility first caught fire and then exploded.
According to the lawsuit, Smitty’s purchased the boiler in 2021 and “regularly inspected and serviced” it but never noticed any defects. The lawsuit doesn’t state how the company became aware of any alleged defects with the boiler.
The lawsuit includes similarly unspecific claims against J&M Boiler Combustion Control Services, claiming the company was negligent in installing and maintaining the boiler unit but does not say exactly how.
“The injuries and damages which occurred herein were caused, in part, by the negligence of J&M and by the negligent installation and/or maintenance of J&M,” the lawsuit states.
Clay Garside, an environmental litigator with the New Orleans-based Waltzer, Wiygul & Garside firm, which is not involved in the case, reviewed Smitty’s Supply’s legal filing and said the claims will likely have difficulty succeeding in court.
“It’s hard to say whether Fulton Thermal or J&M had any role in causing the explosion based on the allegations in this lawsuit,” Garside said. “There doesn’t seem to be a single factual allegation about anyone other than Smitty’s.”
Calls and emails to the sued companies were not returned Wednesday, though Jean Windown, J&M Boiler’s president, told WVUE-TV Fox 8 that it hasn’t worked with Smitty’s Supply for several years.
Through a news release from a public relations firm, Smitty’s Supply said Tuesday that it is focusing on supporting the “safe and efficient cleanup efforts” of the government agencies that have responded.
The Aug. 22 fire and explosion at the Smitty’s Supply plant, which manufactures, bottles and distributes petrochemical products for automotive and industrial retailers, resulted in a chemical blaze that took two weeks to fully extinguish. The incident sent smoke, soot and oily residue into the air and onto nearby homes, businesses and an elementary school.
Hazardous materials from the plant spilled into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. Oil-based chemicals have flowed nearly 40 miles downriver toward Lake Pontchartrain, though officials say the lake hasn’t been affected.
The Environmental Protection Agency still has crews cleaning up and decontaminating the area. The agency is also still analyzing water samples from area waterways. EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason has said the cleanup would not be affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The federal agency has relinquished the destroyed facility back to Smitty’s Supply. In a news release Wednesday, the company said it will begin an EPA-approved remediation plan at the site.
Meanwhile, town officials in Independence, 15 miles south of the Smitty’s plant, have approved permits to allow the company to set up shop at a storage facility, WVUE reported.
This article originally published in the October 20, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.