Port Huron Township Fire Department
Chief Robert Howe
Personnel: Four career firefighters, 21 paid-on-call firefighters
Apparatus: One engine, one pumper/tanker, one ladder, one cascade unit, one ambulance, one grassfire rig
Population: 8,000
Area: 14 square miles
On May 28, 1997, the Port Huron, MI, Township Fire Department was dispatched at 11:10 P.M. to a reported fire with explosions at buildings used by a company that processed chemicals into solvents, paints and adhesives.
Photo by Tony Pitts/Times Herald An aerial attack was made from the south side of Building A.
About 25 products were manufactured at the plant, including roof coatings, latex paint, latex caulk, and adhesives for paneling and drywall. The plant was located on the borderline between the township and the City of Port Huron.
Port Huron City Tower 4 and Chief 2 were first to arrive on the scene and cut open the gates to the property for access by the township equipment. The first township officer on the scene, Assistant Fire Chief Richard Nolte, special-ordered the township equipment and requested mutual aid from Kimball Township, Clyde Township, Kenockee Township, the City of St. Clair and the City of Marysville.
The initial size-up found heavy fire in the west side of Building A, Building B was fully involved and the south wall of Building C was burning. Fifty-five-gallon drums in the tank farm area were smoking. Operations were started to contain the fire to the area that was already lost.
Port Huron Township Engine 32, a 1,000-gpm pumper, and Pumper/ Tanker 41, a 1,000-gpm pumper with a 1,000-gallon booster tank, were positioned on the east side of the complex to protect the office area of Building A and were supplied by five-inch hydrant supply lines. Engine 32 supplied three 1 1/2-inch attack lines and one 2 1/2-inch line. A portable deluge monitor was also supplied by two 2 1/2-inch supply lines. Pumper/Tanker 41 supplied one 1 1/2-inch and one 2 1/2-inch attack lines.
Township Ladder 99, a 75-foot aerial with a 1,500-gpm pump (formerly Baltimore City Fire Department Engine 46, the "Firehog") was positioned on the south side of Building A and was supplied with a five-inch supply line from a city hydrant. Two engines from Kimball Township were positioned on the north side of the complex and assigned to Building C. These engines were also supplied by five-inch lines from city hydrants and placed the engine-mounted deluge guns into operation. One 1 1/2-inch line was stretched to the west side of Building C. With all of the hydrants in the area being used, tankers from Kimball, Clyde and Kenockee townships were used to supplement the hydrant water supply.
During the fire, over 50 of the 55-gallon drums BLEVEd (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion), causing fireballs that shot over 100 feet in the air. "The most difficult thing was keeping the firefighters out of danger," Howe said. "They kept inching closer and closer." Mutual aid fill-in was received from Fort Gratiot Township, the City of Memphis and the Village of Emmett.
Photo by Tony Pitts/Times Herald Command's strategy was to contain the fire to the area that was already lost.
The fire was brought under control at 5 A.M. on May 29. As firefighters were rotated in and out, EMS personnel checked them out before sending them to the rehabilitation area. Firefighters left the scene at 8 A.M. During the fire, nearby residents were instructed to stay indoors and to keep windows shut. No evacuations were necessary. Over 900,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the fire. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Before the incident, fire officials had expressed concerns about safety at the company in fact, a chemical-fed fire in August 1976 severely damaged the plant and seriously injured five people. After the latest incident, Howe cited the lack of a sprinkler system and improper storage of chemicals. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were cleaning up the site.
Jay K. Bradish, a Firehouse® contributing editor, is a former captain in the Bradford Township, PA, Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter and fire photographer for 22 years.
