The chemical fire that started Thursday afternoon at SMB Products in East Akron has been fully extinguished and the smoke has largely dissipated, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced Saturday afternoon via a news release.
On Thursday afternoon, the Akron Police and Fire departments evacuated a half-mile radius around the fire at 1081 Rosemary Blvd., west of the Akron Fulton Airport, because of a concern that materials stored on site could explode. The fire affected dozens of nearby businesses, including the Aldi store just down the street, and hundreds of employees and residents.
The fire continued to burn Friday but was under control. At a noon press conference, Akron Fire Chief Leon Henderson said methanol, xylene, propane, ether and ethanol were in the building at 1081 Rosemary Blvd. at the time of the fire. However, he said officials cannot confirm if any of the chemicals were the cause of the fire.
Air monitoring conducted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has shown normal levels since the testing began. New air monitoring at the perimeter of the site and in work areas has now begun.
The Ohio EPA has been collecting air canister samples that will be submitted for laboratory analysis to confirm the field data. An environmental consultant hired by representatives of SMB Products is doing the work.
Creek near site contaminated, water monitoring continues down to Tuscarawas River
The Ohio EPA confirmed that fire suppression materials ran off into a creek adjacent to the site. The release stated that contractors are “utilizing high volume pumps to augment the natural breakdown of the product by removing contaminated water.” The main contaminants in the creek are ethanol and methanol, both alcohol-based.
The creek runs southeast into Long Lake, 3 miles away from the fire site, which is not a drinking water source, the release stated.
Multiple treatment areas remain in operation in the creek — field monitoring has shown water quality beyond the last treatment location to be within acceptable water quality limits. The work is expected to continue through the weekend, with the Ohio EPA providing oversight.
Water quality samples are being collected daily in the creek and the Tuscarawas River and being submitted for laboratory analysis. The results will be used to confirm the field data.
A temporary storm water bypass system has been set up near the site to divert impacted storm water runoff into the sanitary sewer rather than cause additional impact to the creek.
The Akron firefighter who was transported to the hospital on Thursday has been released and is expected to make a full recovery.
“I want to again thank our safety forces and the Ohio EPA for their round the clock attention and care to this matter since Thursday afternoon. I’m grateful that our injured firefighter is now home and recovering,” Malik said.
“Now that the fire has been extinguished, the Akron Fire Department can begin their investigation into the fire and the EPA can conduct the necessary analysis on the site.”
Malik said the city will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
