PORT ARTHUR - Port Arthur firefighters are still investigating what caused a conveyer belt fire near a cargo ship.

The conveyor belt being used to load German wood pellets onto a ship caught fire according to the PIO.

Port Arthur firefighters arrived to the scene at 3 p.m.

City of Beaumont firefighters also helped put out the flames at the port to assist according to Captain Jimmy Blanchard of the Beaumont Fire Department.

A witness said he thought it was a fire coming from a refinery at first.

"I saw the black smoke and everything, I knew the refineries are around, and they had been burning the marsh," said Jeff Paton. "I thought, well that ain't a marsh burning so I wanted to check it out and I saw the smoke come on this side of the bridge."

The ship crew will have a supervisor on fire watch tonight to make sure the conveyer belt does not flare up again.

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