Residents allowed to return home after Baltimore chemical fire

BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) -- Residents were allowed to return to their homes Tuesday afternoon after a chemical fire in an area warehouse forced their evacuation.

The fire, mostly confined to a room within the JAG Industries warehouse, was extinguished using soda ash, said Mike Maybin, a spokesman for the city fire department. There were no injuries.

The chemical on fire was sodium borohydride, which Maybin said could be explosive.

The evacuation, he said, was a precautionary measure. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

JAG Industries, according to the company's Web site, is a manufacturer of precision machined and fabricated parts for the scientific, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, communications, electronics and military industries.

Maybin did not know exactly how the chemical was used at the warehouse.

Two weeks ago, downtown streets were closed after the derailment and fire of a train carrying hazardous materials.