Friday, September 08, 2000

Fire rips Reading plant

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By Andrea Tortora and Earnest Winston
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        READING — A three-alarm fire, visible for miles and fueled by several explosions, destroyed a metal-plating building at Rosemont Industries Inc. about 8 p.m. Thursday.

        No one was injured, though two nearby plants were evacuated as firefighters from a dozen suburban departments battled the fire at 1700 West St.

Fire engulfs a building at Rosemont Industries in Reading Thursday. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        Firefighters had the fire under control, except for scattered hot spots, by about 9:30 p.m.

        “You could see a big red flame, and you heard a loud noise like the WEBN fireworks,” said Jason Haines, 17, of Reading, who lives nearby. “You could feel it in your chest.”

        Reading Mayor Earl Schmidt, who came to the scene, said “something exploded on several occasions. There were a number of balls of fire.”

        Firefighters said the explosions were caused by “boiling liquid vapor” in the firm's black-oxide building. In that building, plant employees mix black oxide with other materials to create a coating compound for metal parts.

        There was no one in the plant when the fire broke out. The cause was undetermined, and there was no immediate damage estimate.

        Mike Rahall, Reading's safety service director, said Rosemont makes photo lab finishing equipment. City officials were unsure what chemicals were stored in the building, though firefighters were testing the water supply for acid levels.

        Vinyl siding on the wood-frame building was melted by the fire, and officials were concerned about possible chemical runoff.

        The Metropolitan Sewer District, the Ohio EPA and hazardous-materials experts were at the scene.

        Units from Arlington Heights, Deer Park, Evendale, Golf Man or, Lincoln Heights, Lockland, Reading, Sharonville, Silverton, Springfield Township, Sycamore Township and Woodlawn responded to the fire.

        Wayne Byrd, a supervisor in the black-oxide building, said about five people work in the building during the day, but there is no evening shift. “We mix up the solution, customers send in parts and we plate them,” he said.

        He said he had no idea what may have exploded.

        According to the 1999 Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce directory, 74 employees work at the plant.

        In 1978, a fire at Rosemont Chemicals Inc., at 1600 West St., caused about $80,000 damage and gutted a building. No cause was ever determined. Then, about 40 employees fled the building, but there were no injuries.

       

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