By Jennifer Edwards and Jane Prendergast
Enquirer staff writers

PHOTO GALLERY

Fire at Queen City Barrel

LOWER PRICE HILL - More than 150 firefighters from three fire departments were battling a blaze at a warehouse here that sent flames lapping nearly 100 feet in the sky and blanketed the industrial area in a heavy black smoke.

Fear of the 104-year-old building's collapse pushed firefighters out and away from the Queen City Barrel Co. building at 809 Evans St. Explosions could be heard every few mintues from inside the building, which was beginning to collapse at 9:20 p.m.

Queen City Barrel cleans and resells industrial barrels.

Cincinnati Fire Chief Robert Wright, who was at the scene, called in the city's Chemical Air Monitoring Team, which was monitoring the area's air quality.

The chief said he did not believe the business housed hazardous materials, but he was concerned about the potential for the building's collapse.

"We are going to try to confine it and cut it off so it doesn't spread further,'' Wright said.

Officials had shut down streets and the Eighth Street viaduct and were shooing onlookers away throughout the night.

By 9 p.m., fire officials were telling residents in parts of Downtown, the West End, Over-The-Rhine and University Heights to stay inside their homes, close their windows and doors, shut off air conditioners and ventilation and to go to an upper floor.

District Fire Chief Dwayne Herth said heavy smoke and the possibilities of chemicals burning was why residents were requested to stay inside.

Authorities do not know what caused the 6:45 p.m. fire, which started in the west area of the nearly block-long building.

No workers were believed to be inside the company at the time of the fire. No one was reported injured as of Thursday night.

Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said he plans to stop by the fire scene this morning. He promised a complete and independent investigation.

"I go back 20, 25 years with this place,'' Luken said "My concern now is for the safety of the firefighters and the people who live around there.''

Authorities believe the explosions were solvents heating and blowing the lids off of barrels. Solvents are used to clean the barrels and sometimes residue reamins inside. When subjected to intense heat, the solvent explodes.

Don Hayden, 65, Glencoe, Ky., a former plant manager and maintenance man, said he saw coverage of the fire on local televsion stations.

"It hurts to see what you worked at all your life go up in flames,'' said Hayden, who retired in 2002.

Hayden said the area of the building where the fire started used to be a storage area. Authorities said they believed paper barrels, drums, wood and paper products were what continued to stoke the blaze that kept the area aglow through Thursday night.

Edward Paul, owner and president of Queen City Barrel, who was at the fire Thursday night said a company truck driver saw smoke in the basement near the center of the building. The area is used to store steel, plastic and paper drums.

About 60 to 80 employees work in that area of the building. All workers finished their day about 3:30 p.m.

"We quit at 3:30 p.m. There is no reason for anybody to be in there,'' Paul said.

Troubled history

The company was founded in 1929 by Paul's grandfather, Harry Paul as a wooden barrel manufacturer and reconditions. It remains one of the nation's largest independantly owned reconditioners of steel, fiber and plastic drums and bulk containers.

The company is insured and the agent was the fire, Paul said.

"We are here witnessing a tragedy,'' Edward Paul said. "This isn't something we relish going through.''

Thursday's fire was the last of a long line of problems with the company dating back at least two decades.

In 1983, residents of Lower Price Hill objected to the company's application to store hazardous wastes on the property. In 1987, neighbors complained about piled-up drums that were corroding and possibly leaking.

"Firefighters have been inspecting that place for years,'' said Joe Diebold, president of the firefighters union.

In February, the company agreed to pay the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency a $26,625 fine to settle claims it violated state pollution laws. That followed the discovery in October 2003 by the Hamilton County Division of Environmental Services that the company was operating a steel drum coating line without a permit. The company agreed to shut down the line. Ohio EPA said the shutdown would elimiate 1.6 tons of volatile organic compounds from the air per year.

Pollution control devices are required to minimize hazardous substances that are released during the painting process. The facility's permit specifies the amount of pollution that can be released safely and methods for reporting them. Failure to properly maintain air emissions units, perform tests or accurately report results are considered permit violations.

The company was cited in part for its failure to file the right paperwork. But the OEPA also said it operated an unpermitted steel drum coating line, which was discovered after neighbors complained about odors from the plant.

The company agreed to pay a $26,625 civil penalty and shut down the coating line.

In March, company president Edward Paul was among those objecting to the possibility that the city would go back to its odor crackdown program called Title X, which was repealed in 2002 as part of budget cuts. Residents complain the odors in Lower Price Hill and elsewhere have gotten worse since the odor-control program was canceled. Paul said then that when the company gets complaints about odors, it tries to work it out and be a good neighbor.

In 1995, odors from Queen City Barrel forced Lower Price Hill Community School to close early for the day. About 60 students were sent home after they complained .

Queen City Barrel has at least four subsidiaries - Cargo Clean, based in Lower Price Hill; Columbus Steel Drum, based in Gahanna; Astro Container, based in Sharonville; and Allied Drum Service in Louisville.