Early on the morning of November 13, 1983, a three-alarm explosion and fire occurred at the Polycast Chemical Plant on Southfield Avenue. The fire took 48 firefighters and more than ninety minutes to bring the fire under control and caused the evacuation of nearby neighborhoods. One employee and six Stamford Police Officers were transported to the Hospital. The Polycast employee, an engineer for the plant, received facial burns and was listed in stable condition the next day. The Police Officers were all treated for chemical smoke inhalation.

Polycast was the manufacturer of Methyl Methacrylate, a chemical used to create sheets of acrylic.