ROSELAND - One of the employees who first saw the fire at Smitty's Supply on Friday said he worked quickly to help his coworkers evacuate.

For 11 years, Jessie Hughes has worked around flammable products, blending oil at the facility in Roseland. That's what he was doing when he saw flames at a mixing tank.

"Like 20 feet in the air, fire," Hughes said.

He acted quickly, running inside the building and yelling for people to leave.

"I knew we got to get out. We don't have time to be playing around," he said.

With his prior training as a police officer, Hughes said he and another person helped many of his coworkers evacuate. Some of them were in offices while others were doing various tasks around the facility. Many were out of sight from what was happening outside.

Hughes says the fire originated near the center of the facility at a 10,000-gallon tank filled with oil. Nearby were other tanks holding brake fluid and other flammable substances. 

Everything happened fast. Hughes says he first noticed the fire around 12:45, and everyone was out of there within minutes. He called 911 at 12:52 when he was out of harm's way and helped direct traffic on Highway 51 until emergency crews arrived. 

"That's when you heard the tanks pop and explode," he said. 

It was like a chain reaction given the tanks' close proximity. 

"It sounded like a bomb because you see a tank exploding, debris flying through the air," Hughes said.

A portion of Highway 51 and other streets around the rubble remain closed on Tuesday. Hughes says he planned to retire from Smitty's Supply. He was notified by text message on Monday that he no longer has employment.

"The day before, you had a job. The day before, there was a plant there. Now, there's nothing but smoke, fire and debris," he said.

Even with the stress of finding himself suddenly unemployed, Hughes knows he did all that he could, and every life was saved.