A Massive Fire has been burning for 4 days now at a Warehouse in Parkersburg – Media Blackout
26
October, 2017
A
fire has been burning at a warehouse that’s become a dump for
things Dupont can’t legally get rid of for more than 4 days in
Parkersburg, WV.
I’ll
be collecting all the updates I’ve found on social media here. The
warehouse used to be the Ames Factory (I think they made shovels
there), but for years has been a dump for things that Dupont can’t
legally get rid of.
The
state doesn’t know what was in there, but there is possibilities of
any number of these products being stored there – PVC, Nylon,
Carbon black, Titanium dioxide, Fiberglass, Maleic Anhydride TLV 0.1
ppm, Formaldehyde, PTFE (Teflon), Styrene, Acrylonitrile,
Polybutylene Terephthalate, and/or Acrylic Sheet all of which are not
good things when burned.
Edit:
Update from Reddit “There is also an underground storage tank from
when it was ames that is full of trichloroethyene, lead,
ethylbenzene, and toluene that is leaking.
The
fire suppression system for the warehouse failed last winter because
one of the pipes froze and busted. They never had it fixed.”
Edit
2: Another update from an insider that used to work for Dupont. IEI,
who owns the building is a shell company owned by Dupont. Also, from
a different insider “Saurabh Naik (Ed Note: The official owner of
IEI) has dozens of LLC Shell companies like IEI that he funnels stuff
through. He makes everyone that works from him sign an NDA.
You’d
be Shocked at some of the stuff that gets stored in his warehouses.
You get everything from polymers to toxic Dust to drums of acid all
thrown into the same sections of buildings. I’ve personally seen
warehouses wall-to-wall with this stuff with literally no room to
walk around in. If a Fire breaks out in one of his buildings then
there is no way to put it out short of letting the entire thing Burn
to the ground. Apparently this old AMES building was one of his worst
and he’s already received many citations and Warnings about how
things are stored and the general maintenance of the facility. Expect
shutdowns of satellite warehouses soon and probably a couple
bankruptcies declared as Well.”
Fire
crews have been on site since Saturday, costing the city of
Parkersburg $60,000 a day, they’ve already spent more than $300,000
on fighting the fire. Some fire fighters on site have said that while
the fire on the building is easy to put out, some of the materials
inside it burn hotter when sprayed with water. They do not have
enough foam to put out the fire, but they need it badly.
Why
can’t they just let it burn out? This is why. This ash cloud has
been bellowing from the fire since the beginning and the ash has been
found over 40 miles away. People who breathe in the ash and smoke for
as little as half an hour have issues with breathing, burning skin,
eyes, and throat. Residents are also reporting headaches and nausea.
A lot of people have been hospitalized for acute chemical
pneumonitis. Schools are closed, buses aren’t running, businesses
are closed, and government agencies are closed.
Most
people do not have the money to evacuate, and they are not safe in
their homes, let alone if they leave to get supplies. The smoke cloud
is literally blacking out the sky in areas.
The
weather in the last few days increased toxicity in the air and has
caused toxic water run-off into the creeks and river. The fire
department has nearly drained the city’s water reservoir, and the
reservoir has likely been compromised by the ash as they don’t know
if the filters can clear it.
Though
a Dupont spokesperson said that the cloud was harmless, it reportedly
smells like paint thinner and people are going to the hospital
because of it.
Fire
crews have been finding unlabeled containers inside and outside the
building burning. For example, DEP inspectors found that “good
housekeeping was not being maintained” at the warehouse. They also
found that the company had not developed and implemented a
groundwater protection plan that “included materials stored at the
site.”
“Officials
say a material safety data sheet for the Intercontinental
Export-Import Plastics warehouse on Camden Avenue, the former Ames
shovel plant, is likely out of date and does not give an accurate
view of what was stored in the building at the time of the
fire.”http://www.newsandsentinel.com/…
Once
again, West Virginia has gotten the short end of the stick when it
comes to our water, air, and land. And because of this, our citizens
are suffering and our fire fighters are risking their lives to help
fight the fire.
Luckily
no one has died yet, but the long term effects of the smoke have yet
to be determined.
Why
haven’t you heard anything about this? Because major news outlets
have reported that the fire is out. https://www.cbsnews.com/…
Notice
this photo is pointed towards the fire from miles away.
What’s
left burning of the building. Fire crews have luckily been able to
keep it from spreading to other buildings.
What’s
left burning of the building. Fire crews have luckily been able to
keep it from spreading to other buildings.
From
here are pictures from the site in 2012 when the state fined the
company who owns the property $60,000. The company buys Dupont and
other companies chemicals that they can’t legally get rid of.
They
supposedly reuse, properly dispose of, or resell as usable B-grade
materials, however most of the materials go into warehouses like this
one. There are 5 in Parkersburg alone.
Note
this photo says Plant 1. Plant 2 had a fire in 2012, which is what
prompted the investigation into the conditions at Plant 1, the former
Ames building. There are some blurps on pictures from here, and you
can find links on the last picture, mainly news links. If anyone from
the area (I live across the state) has any knowledge of relief
efforts, let me know, I’ll add them to the post.
“Two
volunteer fire chiefs in Wood County warned nearly a decade ago that
they had “extreme concerns” about the potential for a major fire
at one of the local warehouses being used to store large amounts of
plastics and unknown other products from area chemical plants, state
records show…
““Hazardous
materials are stored randomly throughout the warehouse in unlabeled
storage containers,” said the July 28, 2008, letter from Linder and
Stewart. “These are scattered throughout the building.”
“Linder
and Stewart wrote that they had “extreme concerns for the safety of
our firefighters if called to mitigate emergencies in these
warehouses.”
“They
recalled responding to a recent fire at the Parkersburg warehouse and
not being able to access the blaze because of “boxes stacked up
along the exterior of the warehouse, closing the
alley.””https://www.wvgazettemail.com/…
Note:
Not the same fire (as evidenced by the date).
How
to help –
Links
to News Sources –
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