
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991                   TAG: 9104121052
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COEBURN                                LENGTH: Short

EXPERTS CHECK FIRE FOR TOXIC MATERIALS

Hazardous-materials experts worked into the night trying to determine what dangerous materials may have been released in a fire that destroyed two buildings.

The blaze began about 10:15 a.m. Thursday in the Coeburn Produce building, which was being used to store scrap metal for recycling. The blaze destroyed that building and the town's rescue squad building beside it.

"By the time we got there, it was already going through the roof," said Coeburn firefighter Mike Riggs, whose department arrived at the scene about 10:30 a.m.

Eight fire units responded to the blaze: Coeburn sent five, Norton sent two and Wise sent one. The fire was under control by noon, Riggs said.

The produce building stored various types of recyclable materials, including about 2,000 car batteries, hazardous-materials officer Jack Tolbert said. A portion of the 40,000 pounds of batteries melted, mixing acid and lead with the runoff of water being used to fight the blaze, he said.

The building also housed about 1,000 pounds of various dried herbs, which were also a concern to hazardous materials workers. Tolbert said wild cherry wood was stored in the building. If enough of the cherry burned, it could send cyanide gas into the air.

by CNB