Saturday, January 01, 2000
Fumes accompany warehouse fire
Dry chlorine complicates Hamilton scene
BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Fire at Pease company in Hamilton.
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HAMILTON — After hours of fighting a smoky fire in a chemical-laden warehouse complex Friday, firefighters decided to let it burn itself out.
Fire Chief Lyle Moore said the fire in the complex at Zimmerman and Fairview avenues filled the air with chlorine fumes.
Chief Moore said he had been told that the buildings housed 40,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds of dry chlorine, several vehicles containing fuel and possibly some propane tanks. It was difficult to determine what else was inside, he said, because multiple tenants rent space inside the pink-painted brick structures. Some of the buildings are occupied by Pease Industries, but a company spokeswoman said it stores only door panels ands other such inventory in the building.
By 6:30 p.m., residents of the Lindenwald neighborhood who were not home at the time the fire started were allowed to go to their homes. They were urged to stay inside and avoid the fumes.
The fire, reported just before 1 p.m., began with “some kind of explosion or chemical reaction” inside one of the buildings at the massive, old complex, Chief Moore said. He said he didn't think anyone was inside at the time of the fire, but said several workers had left just before the fire was reported. Preliminary reports were that no one was hurt.
Large clouds of white smoke — presumed to be created by the reaction of firefighters' water with dry chlorine, Chief Moore said — sometimes caused spectators to cough.
The smoke could be seen for miles. Jim Tuke of Clermont County and his son, James, 8, were eating at a Frisch's restaurant on Ohio 4 when the boy spotted the smoke. “He said, "Let's go see the fire, dad. I've never seen a fire.' He could hardly finish his fries fast enough,” Mr. Tuke said.
Tracy Williams, 29, who lives nearby, said she called 911.
She was heading to her car and heard a loud noise coming from the pink-brick buildings. “It was a caving-in sound. ... You just knew it was something awful even though you couldn't see much,” she said, cradling her 7-month-old son. The family wasn't sure what to do, Mrs. Williams said, because police cruisers had blocked off their street, Fairview Avenue, preventing them from leaving.
When firefighters arrived, they found that insulation had blown out of some windows, Mr. Moore said, and found conditions too dangerous for them to try entering the structures. He said there were no plans to send firefighters inside, and firefighters had taken a “defensive position” around the buildings.
Firefighters aimed torrents of water at the blaze from two aerial ladder trucks.
At times, flames licked through the rooftops, causing the smoke to change from white to gray and brown.
About 45 firefighters, including members of the hazardous-materials teams from Union Township and Hamilton, spent hours fighting the blaze.
Chief Moore noted that the city's last major fire occurred near the beginning of the year, a $1.7 million arson Jan. 15 at Wilson Junior High School.
“We started '99 with Wilson; we're ending it with Pease,” he said.
Some of the warehouse space is occupied by Pease Industries. The 106-year-old company, which runs a Fairfield door manufacturing business, recently agreed to be acquired by the Pella Corp., a window manufacturer based in Pella, Iowa. Pease, which has revenues of more than $70 million, is one of Greater Cincinnati's largest privately held companies.
The company employs about 275 at its Fairfield operation. One of those employees, Jason Arno, heard that the Pease warehouse was on fire and went to the scene about a mile away from his Hamilton home.
“At that end, that's where they keep the materials for my job,” he said. “If the fire makes it down there, I guess I won't have any work to do on Monday.”
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