MFT (Mystery Fire Topic) >> Plant Fire Closes Schools, Puts Residents on Alert - Cause Unknown (TN)

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

LINK

[Fair Use: For Education and Research Purpose Only]

2/26/2000

PLANT FIRE CLOSES SCHOOLS, PUTS RESIDENTS ON ALERT

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. -- Firefighters battled a blaze at the North American Corp. factory yesterday, working to keep flames away from a fire wall that protected chlorine stored at the plant.

City schools were closed and the 13,000 residents of this Carter County town were advised to stay indoors, though dozens watched from nearby parking lots, as thick smoke poured from the plant.

No injuries were reported, and no evacuations were ordered.

Authorities said the fire was confined last night to an area away from the roughly 5 million pounds of chlorine stored at the plant, although workers from the company and nearby businesses were moving the chlorine to another storage area as a precaution.

Jerry Fleenor, director of the Sullivan County Emergency Management Agency, said firefighters' efforts were hampered by deplet ed local water supplies because of a drought.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency rounded up seven tankers from Hamblen and Hawkins counties yesterday afternoon to draw river water to fill portable tanks.

Otherwise, officials said, Elizabethton's drinking water supplies would have run out by evening.

The chlorine, in granular and tablet form, was a concern but it created no immediate danger, said James Burrough, director of the Elizabethton-Carter County Emergency Management Agency.

Officials initially worried the chlorine would release poisonous vapors if it got wet.

But Fleenor said they learned that is not a danger with the type of chlorine stored at the plant.

"Arch Chemical, out of Charleston, Tennessee, is the manufacturer. They say it is not reactive to water," Fleenor said.

He said the manufacturer advised emergency officials that if the fire got near the chlorine it could be doused with water to keep it cool.

The blaze started about 4:30 a.m., apparently in some packaging material, North American Corp. president Charles Green said. The cause was not known. -SNIP-

================================

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 26, 2000


Moderation questions? read the FAQ