Contaminants Released at Fire Require 27 Days for Cleanup
features
Photo by the author
A massive explosion and fire at the four-story Berncolors-Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Dye Works last Jan. 14 killed two employees and exposed fire fighters to dangerous fumes from a possible carcinogen. Almost all fire fighting equipment and clothing was contaminated and had to be sealed in steel drums, awaiting reports from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. And there was more work to do before leaving the scene.
Temperatures of 30 degrees below zero were reported during the fire attack and cleanup, with a wind chill factor of 75 degrees below zero caused by strong winds blowing off the Hudson River.
First notification to the Poughkeepsie Fire Department was a box alarm at 8:48 that Thursday morning. On arrival, Captain Clifford Kilhmire found that the front section of the 5000-square-foot building had been leveled, and the chemical-laden rubble was totally involved in fire. Second and third alarms were called immediately, bringing in city back-up companies and mutual aid from the surrounding fire districts of Arlington, Fairview, Hyde Park and Highland.
Four rescued
Poughkeepsie Lieutenant John Dakin led the rescue of three persons from the third floor of the remaining rear section of the building and one from the first floor. Two workers could not be found.
Chemical smoke poured into the air and raced southward along the Hudson, changing colors in a magnificent spectacle. Poughkeepsie Fire Chief James Davison staged fire fighting operations upwind of the blaze and ordered all men to wear full protective gear and selfcontained breathing apparatus.
A lV2-inch fog line was applied to about 35 carboys of acid that were leaking and forming a cloud. An 800gpm deluge gun was set up in front of the building to soak the rubble. Two 1 3/4-inch, 300-gpm hand lines were also brought in to work the debris.
At about 9:30, Davison was advised by the building owner that 400 pounds of sodium picramate, a low-level explosive used in dye manufacture, were believed to be on the fourth floor of the uninvolved rear section.
Davison immediately ordered two deluge guns directed to the fourth floor, creating a cross fire on the sodium picramate.
Evacuations begun
At this point the chief also dispatched Fire Inspector Thomas Powell to the Rip Van Winkle Tower, a high-rise apartment complex directly downwind of the fire. Experiencing burning and running eyes on the topmost floors, Powell advised immediate evacuation.
Davison ordered the evacuation be carried out under the supervision of Second Assistant Chief Thomas Armstrong, who was assisted by 50 volunteer fire fighters. The operation was coordinated with the city’s police and bus departments.
Because of heavy contamination in the area, Davison could only observe the south side of the structure by venturing onto the ice of the Hudson. Assisted by Castle Point Fire Fighters Fran Diottavia and Don Stuss, he assessed the situation. From the vantage point of the ice it could be seen that the building had been split in two. Chemical drums were strewn throughout the wreckage, and the picramate drums on the fourth floor were in an exposed condition. He then ordered a third deluge gun directed at the fourth-floor containers and any that may have fallen into the rubble.
“My attitude at this point,” said Davison, “was to surround and drown the fire and keep it the hell away from the fourth floor.”
Two of the deluge guns were left unmanned because of their proximity to the toxic smoke and the possibility of a second explosion.
Chemicals flow into river
By 10 a.m. chemical runoff was pouring into the adjacent Fallkill Creek and the Hudson River. Davison requested the assistance of the United States Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office in Albany, which sent personnel to the scene within an hour. Port of Albany Commander P. J. Bull later called the incident “the largest chemical spill of its type in New York State history.”
By 11:00 the fire had been contained to the rubble area, and fire fighters began to knock it down. A large frontend loader was brought in from the city’s department of public works to get lines in underneath the debris and to aid in searching for the missing men.
The fire rekindled at about 11:30 from what Davison termed an autogeneous ignition. “It was worse than the first time,” Davison said. “There were a lot of chemicals burning.”
Fire fighters worked the rubble with hand lines and used the front-end loader to move debris around. “We stayed right with it, using a lot of heavy water saturation,” said Davison.
Assessing contamination
By 1:30 p.m. the fire was out and fire fighters backed off to avoid further contamination. Those who showed any type of symptoms were sent immediately to Vassar Brothers Hospital, while information from the Poison Center was awaited concerning precautions that should be taken.
It was determined that nitroaniline, a potential carcinogen, was the most dangerous contaminant. Anyone who had been exposed to the smoke had to take 15-minute showers with hot, soapy water. All clothing and gear were placed in plastic bags, and those most exposed to the fumes were sent for blood tests that evening. Tests were arranged for others at a nearby lab for the next day, with follow-up tests scheduled three to seven days later.
Map by Michael D. Haydock
Fortunately, all tests would later prove negative. However, since 98 percent of the department’s equipment had been contaminated and the situation was far from over, steps to obtain new turnout gear was a prime concern.
After initial inquiries, it appeared as if any new equipment would take a minimum of three months for delivery. However, Bell-Herring Suppliers of Newburgh, N.Y., was able to come up with equipment in two hours.
Four fire fighters and an engine remained on the scene overnight with police officers and Coast Guard personnel. In addition, Engine 4, located two blocks from the site, was placed on alert and staffed with four extra men and an officer.
The third deluge gun continued to saturate the rubble, while the other two were kept running into the Fallkill Creek to prevent their freezing up in the subzero weather.
Cleanup
With the Coast Guard on the scene, preparations began for the dangerous cleanup operation. Their Atlantic Strike Team was called in from Elizabeth City, N.C., and New England Pollution Control (NEPCO) of East Norwalk, Conn., experts in the field of hazardous material removal, was contacted.
NEPCO personnel, under the supervision of Vincent Brigante, the company’s director of hazardous material operations, arrived at 4 p.m. the afternoon of the fire. They immediately began checking the area for airborne toxicity and explosive levels and checking the water in both the Fallkill and the Hudson. A general visual survey of the area was also conducted.
At nine o’clock that evening, Davison, together with Acting City Manager John St. Leger and other city officials, met with Brigante and Chief Warrant Officer Edward Santos of the Coast Guard to discuss strategy.
Superfund
At midnight that evening the Coast Guard set into effect the provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (also known as Superfund), and assumed control of the site and supervision of all safety, fire and cleanup activities.
The Superfund (in certain circumstances) provides for reimbursement to municipalities of monies spent in the cleanup of chemical spills other than oil. This incident is one of the first times the fund may be used to such an extent, and determinations made here will affect future cases.
On the next morning, NEPCO began operations at 7:00. Overpack drums and heavy equipment were brought in for demolition and chemical removal, while staging areas were plowed of snow.
During the day the entire site was surveyed, and leaking containers of nitric, muriatic and sulfuric acid were secured. During this operation the fire department stood by, flushing the leaking carboys before the acids were pumped into the secure containers. All three deluge guns continued to operate throughout the day.
The manufacturer of the sodium picramate was contacted in order to determine the ratio of water to chemical and to find out whether crystallization due to cold could have affected its characteristics. There response was, “Handle it as you would an explosive.”
“At this point we began to realize what we were up against,” said Davison. It was agreed in meetings among city, Coast Guard, NEPCO and federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, that the top priority was removal of what was determined to be eight barrels of sodium picramate from the shattered fourth floor.
Winds too strong
In spite of this agreement, the wind proved too strong that day to go ahead with removal of the picramate. This operation entailed the use of a basketequipped crane to raise and lower two men. But they could bring down only one barrel at a time.
Because of this delay, NEPCO spent the rest of the day assembling carboys of acid that had been blown out of the building or strewn throughout the rubble. These acids, which included caustic soda, sulfuric acid and muriatic acid among others, were collected beneath what was left of the building’s stair/ elevator tower and washed down by fire fighters with hand lines and deluge guns. There were about 20 barrels in all.
Meanwhile, other fire fighters in class 1 protective gear, conducted a visual search of the area for traces of the two men presumed caught in the blast. NEPCO closed down operations that day at 5:30 p.m., while the fire department continued its search until 8:00. They were aided in this by lights and a generator truck from the Arlington Fire District.
All special equipment needed from outlying fire districts was obtained through the efforts of Allen Crotty, assistant coordinator for the Dutchess County Bureau of Fire, and First and Second Assistant Chiefs John Nugent and Thomas Armstrong of Poughkeepsie.
On the next morning a heavy snow was falling, but winds had died down. Preparations were made to begin removal of the sodium picramate. Fire fighters with class 1 protective gear manned two deluge guns positioned to cover the crane operator, the men on the ground and the men in the basket. A third gun was set up so that it could be swung onto the fourth floor in case of trouble.
At 9:37 a.m. 72 additional barrels of unknown materials were discovered on the floor with the picramate. These containers were also treated as explosives. In eight hours, all containers had been removed and relocated to a safe staging area.
Collapse feared
During the day the structural condition of the stair/elevator tower had deteriorated to the point where the city building inspector, Michael Haydock, stated “The collapse of the tower could occur at any moment.. .”
It now became critical that the 20 carboys of acids directly beneath the tower be removed immediately. Shattering of the carboys and possible mixture of the acids with other chemicals known to be on-site and in the water runoff, could result in the formation of a chlorine gas cloud and/or a hydrogen gas cloud.
Additional lights and another generator truck were brought in from the New Hackensack Fire District. The immediate area, including the Coast Guard command post, was evacuated and, because of wind direction and velocity, Davison ordered the evacuation of a 2square-mile area to the north.
Eight NEPCO workers, in full face masks, respirators and splash suits, began removing the carboys at 7:07 p.m. Two teams of fire fighters with 1 3/4-inch hand lines backed up the NEPCO team, ready to knock down any vapor cloud and make rescues if necessary. One man ran the engine pump. All fire department personnel involved, including Davision and Haydock, who supervised operations, wore full protective gear.
Poughkeepsie Mayor Thomas Aposporos presented medals of honor on April 16 to Lieutenant John Dakin, Fire Fighters William Burgin and Arthur Ghee, Fire Inspector Thomas Powell, and two police officers for entering the third floor of the building after the explosion to rescue three Berncolors employees “without hesitation or regard for their own safety or well-being, and with the immediate danger of a secondary explosion and further building collapse,” according to Fire Chief James Davison.
All others who participated in the fire fighting and spill control received exceptional service awards and certificates of appreciation. Davison awarded Bull and Brigante the rank of honorary fire chief.
All 20 containers had been successfully removed within 15 minutes. A meeting was held among all officials involved, and it was agreed that conditions were now safe enough to allow the evacuees from Rip Van Winkle, as well as those moved out of the north sector, to return home. Only the residents of three houses directly across the street remained away until Tuesday.
At this point, overnight fire personnel was cut back to two. Extra manpower at Engine 4 was maintained.
The next day, Sunday, the tower was demolished and the search for the bodies continued.
Next crisis: ice jam
At about 3:00 that afternoon, Davison was informed that an ice jam was forming and beginning to dam the Fallkill Creek about a quarter-mile above the site.
Fearing a flash flood in the event of a sudden breakthrough of backed-up water, the chief requested the assistance of Leroy Fine of Dutchess County Flood Control. Fine supervised operations as fire fighters worked to clear the jam using 1 ¾-inch lines to cut slots through the soft, still-forming ice. Later the jam was cleared completely by the Dutchess County Highway Department.
Operations at the site shut down early that day due to the 20 to 25-knot winds with heavier gusts.
While the picramate was being removed on Saturday, a decision was made by the building inspector concerning the adjacent laboratory and office structure which proved its value two days later.
The building, though not directly involved in the fire and explosion, had had all its windows blown out by the force of the blast. Upon inspection by Haydock and Powell, it was found that the entire inside had been disrupted from both the concussion and subsequent exposure to the elements. On the basis of this inspection, Haydock ordered that no one but NEPCO personnel be allowed into the building.
More explosives, cyanide
On Monday morning, NEPCO workers discovered a 6-ounce container of crystallized picric acid, a high-level explosive, next to containers of sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide, both highly poisonous salts. Roy Gould of NEPCO volunteered to remove the picric acid to a snow bank in a safe area. The cyanides were taken to Albany by a state environmental official.
After consultations with chemists from Texaco and Vassar College, who described the substance as “a potential time bomb,” it was decided to detonate the picric acid on-site.
The U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment at Colts Neck, N.J., was contacted, and a five-man team commanded by Lieutenant Joseph Tenaglia arrived at the site at about 6 p.m. A plastic explosive charge was secured to the acid container and it was safely detonated at 7:30.
The painstaking cleanup and search for the bodies continued over the next several days. Rubble had to be carefully sorted for signs of the two presumed victims and to make determinations on the contents of several hundred drums strewn throughout the wreckage. In addition, all material removed had to be sorted into three piles: contaminated, mildly contaminated and not contaminated. These determinations were made by EPA and Coast Guard officials.
Bodies found
The bodies of the two missing company employees were found on Jan. 25, 11 days after the explosion. Fire department apparatus and personnel remained until Feb. 8. Control of the property was returned to the owner on Feb. 10.
The entire operation had lasted just a few days short of a month. During that time 22 million gallons of water were pumped by the fire department; turnout gear, hoses and various other equipment were contaminated or destroyed; and the total city cost of the operation was $155,000. How much of that the City of Poughkeepsie and the fire department will be reimbursed under the Superfund remains to be seen.
The incident at Berncolors also pointed out the necessity of a new commercial inspection program that the building and fire inspectors had been working on prior to the explosion. Implementation of this system was sped up and has since been placed into effect.
