"We've moved 2,400 out of the building so far," Cincinnati Fire Department Capt. Dan Rottmueller said of the industrial barrels that had been removed from the shell of the 400,000-square-foot warehouse building in Lower Price Hill.

Richard Schriewer, with the city's transportation and engineering department, said only about 50 of the barrels removed so far "had some type of liquid in them."

Officials previously said that 40,000 to 50,000 barrels - which the company cleans and resells - were in the warehouse at 1937 South St.when the fire gutted the structure on Aug. 19.

All the barrels must be removed before fire investigators can try to determine a cause for the blaze. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is supervising the cleanup.

Bill Fischer, with the city's community development and planning department, told the crowd of about 70 that the city plans to go forward with its plan to buy the Queen City Barrel property and about 12 acres around it for $1.2 million.