On Thursday afternoon, the Akron Police and Fire departments evacuated a half-mile radius around the site of a chemical fire at 1081 Rosemary Blvd. in East Akron, west of the Akron Fulton Airport, impacting dozens of nearby businesses and hundreds of employees and residents.
Akron Fire Department Public Information Office Lt. Joel Price originally told Signal Akron that there were no chemicals detected in the air, but the primary concern was the fire causing an explosion.
8:42 p.m.: Air quality will be monitored throughout the night
The chemical fire was under control at 7:34 p.m., city officials announced. (One firefighter was transported to an area hospital due to minor injuries.)
By 8 p.m., the evacuation ban had been lifted. Akron Metro helped transport residents. Meanwhile, area utilities are being returned to service.
Officials also said air quality will be monitored throughout Thursday night.
5:24 p.m.: Joon Kostar, Collinson Apartment resident and her dog, Zook
The Akron Fire Department knocked on Joon Kostar’s Collinson Apartment door around 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon, advising her to evacuate the area.
Collinson Apartments, located at 1010 Rosemary Blvd., is a low-income, senior housing facility.
“First they had us outside, and then they realized that was a blast zone,” Kostar said. First responders moved the residents to a shaded area that provided some protection from shrapnel, she said, in case of an explosion caused by the fire. “Which is also where the firefighters were convening,” Kostar said.
Having lived at Collinson Apartments for 22 years, Kostar said she’s never smelled or seen anything odd from the building at 1081 Rosemary Blvd.
“I didn’t know that they kept – I didn’t know what they did there,” she said. “I didn’t know it was full of, like, highly flammable, dangerous chemicals.”
5:20 p.m.: Displaced residents being sent to Mason Park and Joy Park Community Centers
Firestone Park Community Center, being used as a reunification center, is full. Displaced residents who were evacuated are being sent to Joy Park Community Center, the overflow location. Mason Community Center is also open to accept residents displaced by the fire.
5:10 p.m.: Methanol, xylene, propylene identified as the chemicals in the fire
Akron Fire Department District Chief Sierjie Lash identifies the three chemicals in a press conference held by the city in the Oliver Ocasek Building.
4:32 p.m.: Penny Bomba, the recreation supervisor at Firestone Park Community Center, provides assistance
“Anyone who shows up is welcome and we’ll find a space for them,” said Penny Bomba, recreation supervisor at Firestone Park Community Center, which is serving as a reunification center for those displaced by the fire.
She said this is her first experience where the community center is being used as an evacuation shelter, although it has served as an emergency shelter from extreme weather in the past.
Firestone Park Community Center is all-hands-on-deck — Bomba said they’re bringing in additional staff to ensure the center is covered.
“We have water and snacks that are on their way here to make sure that we’re keeping people as fed as possible and as happy as possible,” she said. “But really, we’re just going with the flow and making sure people are safe.”
In the event that Firestone Park Community Center reaches its capacity, Joy Park Community Center will serve as a secondary overflow location.
4:29 p.m. Chemical smell in the air
The fire sent up black plumes of smoke that could be seen from miles around. Signal Akron reporters near the scene but outside the evacuation area said the air was filled with a chemical smell. The city is asking everyone to avoid the area.
4:21 p.m.: Triplett Boulevard resident saw smoke
Michelle Porter was driving home to her Triplett Boulevard residence when she noticed the plume of black smoke was getting closer and closer. Porter said she’s lived in the area since 2015 and has never seen anything like this.
She described the smell in the air as “metallic.”
4:11 p.m.: Metro RTA buses help evacuate residents
Wayne Cole, a Metro RTA bus operator for 24 years, said he got a call at 1:55 p.m. to get over to the Rosemary Boulevard area as quickly as possible to help begin the evacuation process.
“Of course, being evacuated is elective — whether you want to or not,” Cole said. “We do have a few people that are in wheelchairs. We had someone that needed some medical need … so we sent an EMT over to help and assist her.”
From there, Cole said he and the other operators were instructed to bring people to Firestone Park Community Center for safety.
As of 4 p.m., there were about 35 people at the community center with buses still dropping more individuals off.