State Of Emergency Declared For Parkersburg Fire
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PARKERSBURG - A fire at a warehouse complex early Sunday morning sent a thick plume of black smoke into the air all day long, forcing firefighters from Wood County and beyond into what looks to be a long operation to safely extinguish it.
East Wood Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ron Utt said Sunday evening the fire was 95-100% contained at the Peoples Cartage facility on Camden Avenue just outside the Parkersburg city limits.
"This is going to be a multi-day event," he said.
The U.S. EPA and state agencies were at the site and monitoring air and water quality, Utt said. Acknowledging that plastic materials burning create "toxic smoke," Utt said there had been no air quality advisories issued. The National Weather Service was monitoring conditions to see if weather patterns might force the smoke lower, necessitating potential shelter-in-place or evacuation orders, he said.
On Sunday, the smoke was going high up into the air, Utt said.
"That's what we really need it to do, so that the smoke leaves, dissipates and goes," he said.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency in Wood County as a result of the fire after visiting the site on Sunday.
"Protecting the people of Wood County and supporting the brave first responders on the scene are our top priorities," the governor said in a release from his office. "This State of Emergency ensures every available state resource is ready to assist local officials for as long as necessary while we continue monitoring conditions and protecting nearby communities."
The release said the state Department of Environmental Protection deployed personnel from its Environmental Enforcement and Homeland Security and Emergency Response divisions to the scene. In addition to monitoring air quality in cooperation with the EPA, officials are evaluating potential impacts from firefighting runoff into the nearby Little Kanawha River.
"People should know that we are taking this incident seriously and approaching it with an abundance of caution," Morrisey said in the release. "I appreciate the extraordinary work of our firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency personnel, and environmental teams. We will continue supporting them until this fire is extinguished and the community is safe."
He noted the fire remains under investigation.
A statement from Peoples Services CEO Doug Sibila, shared in multiple published reports, said no employees were injured and the company would cooperate with local and state authorities on the situation.
The fire started less than 24 hours after a smaller incident at the same facility. On Saturday, a box of plastic material in the warehouse combusted, activating the sprinkler system and creating a lot of smoke, but a fire that was contained.
"That's what saved it for everybody," said Pete McMullen, a firefighter and treasurer with the Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department, on Saturday.
The second fire was reported around 5:31 a.m., according to the Wood County 911 Center.
Utt said Peoples Cartage had personnel on scene, doing repairs to the sprinkler system, which was not operational at that point, and performing a fire watch. They found a pocket of fire that had reignited.
"It got air. It took off. They tried to contain it, but they (weren't) able," Utt said.
Personnel were evacuated without sustaining any injuries, officials said.
As the fire spread, an excavator provided by Bosley Construction was utilized to separate a portion of the large building and isolate the fire to one area, Utt said.
"It is now two buildings," he said.
A supervisor at the 911 Center said the incident was considered an "all-county fire," so representatives from every fire department in the county responded. On Sunday evening, Utt noted firefighters from Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie and Wirt County were on scene as well.
Firefighters from the southern part of the state, coordinated through the state fire marshal's office, were set to arrive this morning to relieve their local counterparts.
Utt also enlisted the aid of SPSI, a Pennsylvania-based contractor, to provide equipment to pump water directly from the Little Kanawha River, to ease the pressure on the Parkersburg water supply.
Wood County Commission President Blair Couch noted that company assisted in 2017 when IEI at the former O. Ames plant caught fire not far from the Peoples Cartage site, also resulting in a lengthy firefighting operation.
"A lot of the same faces have come up from the state," he said, adding they had access to a lot of good resources to battle this fire.
Couch said the main concern is the safety of the citizens of Wood County.
"At the IEI fire, we didn’t know what was burning," he said. "Here, we have a really good idea and we are testing (the air) around it and the particulate matter is well within reason.
"Still, you don’t want to stand in the cloud. We aren’t as concerned as we were at the last fire. That will make it easier for people to sleep tonight."
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency in Wood County as a result of the fire after visiting the site on Sunday.
"Protecting the people of Wood County and supporting the brave first responders on the scene are our top priorities," the governor said in a release from his office. "This State of Emergency ensures every available state resource is ready to assist local officials for as long as necessary while we continue monitoring conditions and protecting nearby communities."
The Wood County Sheriff’s Office announced it was enacting a secure perimeter around the large Camden Avenue site "to ensure public safety and allow emergency crews to work without interruption."
Everybody except first responders and individuals authorized by incident command are to "stay clear of the area," the sheriff’s office said in a release on its Facebook page. The boundaries of the perimeter are from Elder Street to the Little Kanawha River, from Elder Street down Camden Avenue to Murray Lane and along the river between Elder Street and Murray Lane.
The release also advised people to monitor official channels "for further updates or evacuation orders."
Wood County Schools canceled its summer programs for Monday, citing the potential impact of the fire on air quality. These include summer school classes at Parkersburg and Parkersburg South High Schools and Jefferson Elementary, Jump Start at Emerson Elementary and Energy Express and Summer Speech at Martin Elementary, as well as the Summer Feeding Program.
Although the scene was outside the city limits, the Parkersburg Fire Department was among the agencies on scene. Mayor Tom Joyce Sunday evening applauded the first responders and said he was thankful none had been injured.
Joyce also noted that while no evacuation or shelter in place orders are in place, "any resident with respiratory distress or compromised breathing should be careful when going outside."
Community members rallied to support firefighters with water and other supplies. A lot of the donations were coordinated at the Lubeck Volunteer Fire Department.
Ashley Ong, the daughter of Lubeck Chief Mark Stewart, helps run the department's auxiliary. She was coordinating donations via social media and said she was very impressed with the community’s response.
"As of right now we are ONLY in need of portable charging banks with cords for phones to be charged, Gold Bond and Desitin," she posted on Facebook around 7:15 p.m. Sunday. "We have had an amazing outpour of donations of supplies and meals, specifically pizzas."
Ong made her posts about the situation public so people can find out what is needed. She asked that people contact the department before bringing items so they can coordinate and make sure they have space to store what is provided.
Joyce said the City of Parkersburg would assist in collection or delivery of supplies if needed.