THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 22, 1995 TAG: 9505220032
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS AND STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
The huge fire that gutted a petrochemical warehouse Saturday night apparently has caused little environmental damage, despite initial fears that the former Superfund site was a toxic cesspool.
Authorities on Sunday were crediting good fortune, fast response and ample help from neighboring cities and Norfolk International Airport with averting a possible calamity.
``Nightmares are made of this,'' Fire Chief Donald A. Haupt said of the largest fire the city has seen in 22 years. ``We could have had a real hazardous situation if the weather really hadn't cooperated. . . . The potential for multiple injuries was high.''
The main threat - a huge cloud of toxic smoke that rose from the fire for almost eight hours - was averted thanks to the calm weather.
Still, the fire left behind a chemical soup, the contents of which are only partially known. Fire investigators and environmental officials warned Sunday that it will be a long time before they know the full extent of the fire's damage, what caused it or how long it will take to clean it up.
The spectacular blaze, fed by hundreds of exploding drums of fuel and chemicals, left the Fine Petroleum Co. warehouse a two-story heap of charred and twisted sheet metal. The last of the flames, which first broke out about 7 p.m. Saturday, were doused shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday.
Since then, arson investigators have counted more than 300, 55-gallon drums in the areas they can see. But the wreckage of the building, at the end of St. Julian Avenue, near Calvary Cemetery, is too unstable to allow investigators inside.
Haupt said state and federal experts may be brought in to lend their expertise to the hunt for a cause.
It will take several weeks to dismantle the building, piece by piece, because of structural dangers and the potential for chemical hazards, Fire Capt. Paul Legg said.
At every step, hazardous-materials experts will have to be on hand to identify and catalog each chemical.
But there is no threat to the general public, Haupt said.
And earlier concerns, about toxic runoff from the site contaminating a nearby stream that feeds into the Lafayette River, proved unfounded.
Tests Saturday night showed the stream had been heavily affected by runoff from the fire, but by Sunday, it was back to nearly normal and fish were observed swimming in it.
Still, Haupt warned, ``Some of those drums have been breached and punctured, and others have been stressed and weakened by the heat. If we have just one of those knocked over, breach and mix with another chemical, we've got a serious problem again.''
``We have requested that the owner hire a company to clean it up,'' Haupt said. ``If he doesn't do so, we'll take appropriate action.'' Two local companies are capable of handling the cleanup.
Fine Petroleum has occupied the site since 1970. Company owner Milton H. Fine told fire officials that his company shut down the warehouse in September and moved to another site in Chesapeake.
At home Sunday, Fine declined to answer a reporter's questions about the fire. His wife said the couple was on a cruise to Bermuda when the fire broke out. They returned Saturday night, and met at the site Sunday with city officials and their insurer.
Although a formal review of the response to the fire has not begun, Haupt said Sunday he was pleased. No one was in the building when it burst into flames. More than 100 firefighters and rescue workers from throughout Hampton Roads were called to the site, including 22 fire trucks.
The mutual-aid system ``worked real well,'' Haupt said. ``We were fortunate to have a lot of good people.''
The only problem initially was water pressure, which dropped as firefighters started pouring huge volumes of water on the blaze and around the fire scene. Pressure was increased as more fire trucks were brought in and linked into the hose relay systems that snaked for hundreds of yards around the scene.
Another problem - access - was handled swiftly by firefighters with saws who sliced down chain-link fences and cut paths for fire trucks and personnel.
The blaze belched huge clouds of black smoke, visible for more 20 miles, and enormous fireballs shot hundreds of feet into the air. Firefighters were afraid to get too close to the blaze as they heard 55-gallon drums of chemicals explode inside.
Nearby residents were warned to keep their windows shut as black smoke drifted over their neighborhood. A few were warned to evacuate their homes, just in case. MEMO: Fine Petroleum, a 70-year-old Norfolk-based firm, has a history of
recent environmental problems:
In 1987, a state inquiry concluded that Fine was improperly storing
solvents and petroleum products at the site on St. Julian Avenue.
In 1988, a Fine employee dumped toxic chemicals onto a vacant lot in
the Overbrook neighborhood where children played. City health officials
were told of the incident and the company arranged to clean up the site.
A company attorney said Fine officials did not approve or know about the
dumping.
In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found leaky drums
at the warehouse site and soil contaminated by such hazardous substances
as formaldehyde, sulfuric acid, copper and waste oil.
In 1993, EPA cleaned up the grounds around the warehouse as part of
its Superfund program. About 220 drums containing paints, solvents and
combustible materials were removed, along with contaminated soil.
ILLUSTRATION: Steel drums filled with chemicals are strewn Sunday throughout
the remains of the Fine Petroleum Co. warehouse in Norfolk. If a
drum should break open during the cleanup of Saturday's fire, and
its chemicals mix with others, ``we've got a serious problem
again,'' said Fire Chief Donald A. Haupt.
BILL TIERNAN
Staff
KEYWORDS: FIRE by CNB