Fire spews toxic fumes in St. Paul

February 17th 2:37 pm | Jim Paulin    

A fire that destroyed a warehouse in St. Paul last week sent up smoke plumes that caused the island's only school to close early Monday. No injuries were reported in the blaze, and the cause remains under investigation. The warehouse was rented by Trident Seafoods. State environmental officials say hazardous materials may have been released into the air.

The school closed just before noon on Monday because of health concerns, said Jamie Spacks, the Superintendant of the Pribilof Islands School District. A smoke cloud hovered over the school in calm weather, and fumes seeped inside, she said.

The school closed for the afternoon at the direction of fire chief Mac Mandregan, she said. The school serves 74 students in kindergarten through grade 12, plus 12 preschoolers.

The school reopened Tuesday, with no further smoke problem, Spacks said.

The smoke seemed to be dying down Tuesday, a welcome relief to villagers with breathing difficulties like asthma, said city clerk Phyliss Swetzof. Shifting winds blow the smoke in different directions daily.

"Every day it's a different batch of people that are affected," Swetzof said.

The state fire marshal was expected to arrive Wednesday to investigate the fire, she said.

A Trident official in Seattle said the fire won't interfere with the snow crab season.

"It will have no impact whatsoever on our processing operation," since the processing plant is in a different location on the island, said Trident vice president for operations Paul Padgett.

Trident used the building for storing salt and packing boxes. The company has an ample supply of salt and boxes at the processing plant, with more on the way from Akutan, Padgett said.

St. Paul Police Chief J.C. Alberg said when the blaze was reported at just after 10 p.m. on Thursday, the fire department "knocked it down" but returned early Friday morning after the wind rekindled the fire. Nobody was hurt during the fire, he said.

Alberg said the structure was also known as the Anderson Building.

Trident rented space in the building from Tanadgusix Corp, or TDX, the village Native corporation, said Padgett. The building served as a seafood processing plant until 15 years ago, he said.

TDX chief executive officer Ron Philemonoff in Anchorage said Trident rented about 60 percent of the building, and the rest was vacant. He said cardboard represented the majority of Trident's storage along with salt used in crab processing, plus a smaller quantity of oil drums and water treatment chemicals.

Philemonoff said wax waterproofing on the crab and halibut packaging material probably contributed to the continuing combustion in the smoldering ruins. On Tuesday, he was busy reviewing records to determine the building's value.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said hazardous materials may have been released during the event, saying that petroleum products, water treatment chemicals, paint, roofing tar, sealants and other hazardous materials were stored at the building.

"At this time, it is unknown how many of these chemicals were burned or were released," the DEC said in a report issued Monday afternoon. Bordered by the Bering Sea on one side and the St. Paul Harbor on the other, the DEC said it does not expect runoff from the water used in fighting the fire to reach either body of water, but did say "petroleum and hazardous substances may have impacted both surface and subsurface soils."

By Monday, hot spots continued to smolder at the storage facility, preventing assessment crews from entering the building to find out how much of the hazardous materials may have been burned or released into the environment. Oil sheen is visible in areas where there is standing water, and there are some reports of chlorine odors downwind of the site, according to DEC.

Alaska Dispatch contributed to this story. Jim Paulin can be reached at jpaulin@reportalaska.com.

 

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