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Warehouse Fire in St. Louis – Still Burning

By November 16, 2017January 29th, 2020ICC & Industry News

Hazmat Incident

A warehouse in South St. Louis caught fire on Wednesday and is still burning today.

Listed as a five-alarm fire by some media outlets has caused major problems for the St. Louis area for several reasons. First, multiple-alarm fires are ones where multiple fire stations, firetrucks and firefighters are called in to battle the fire. This number can increase or decrease depending on just how much equipment and manpower is needed to contain the situation. The scale general ranges from one to ten, so a five-alarm fire is of definite concern. The next concern is over the decay of the building as the fire continues to burn. Yesterday, the roof collapsed forcing the fire higher and spreading debris. Following that collapse a section of wall came down damaging one of the trucks. Most alarming is the need for a HazMat Team.

Why a HazMat Team?

According to news outlets the building contained Styrofoam, plastic and citronella candles. All of these things produce harmful and toxic smoke and fumes when burned. Residents, businesses and hospitals in the area were advised to shut down their HVAC units, avoid going outside and keeping windows closed.

This fire just goes to show how quickly normal household items while normally viewed as “non-hazardous” by most of us can become hazardous when involved in fires. Luckily, response to the fire was quick and Officials are monitoring the situation hourly.

Check out these links to see pictures and videos showing the extent of the fire:

http://fox2now.com/2017/11/15/crews-battle-3-alarm-fire-at-south-st-louis-warehouse/

http://www.kmov.com/story/36851034/fire-crews-battling-3-alarm-warehouse-fire-in-botanical-heights-neighborhood

http://www.ksdk.com/article/news/st-louis-warehouse-continues-to-burn-24-hours-later-smoke-considered-hazardous/63-492028403

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