Air returns to normal after waste plant fire
Fumes from the fire appear to have affected one New Castle firefighter.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A fire at an industrial waste plant on River Park Drive did not affect the Shenango River, and air quality was back to normal Thursday night.
First responders at the Castle Environmental fire Thursday afternoon built small dikes on the riverbank behind the plant to help contain water runoff from firefighting, said Freda Tarbell of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Meadville office.
Some water did make it into the river, she said, and a petroleum sheen could be seen in some areas. Tarbell said Friday those areas were being cleaned up.
Tarbell said water PH levels were tested upstream and downstream from the fire site, and there was a small variation in the levels. She said that overall, the impact was minor.
The fire broke out at the plant after a worker using an acetylene torch accidentally ignited insulation in a wall.
The blaze caused an evacuation of people in a half-mile radius around the plant, including 53 residents in a nursing home on Harbor Street.
Seven fire departments and three hazardous materials teams responded. Evacuees were allowed to return Thursday evening.
Tarbell said she believed the evacuation prevented serious health problems for people in the area.
Fire and emergency officials were concerned because of sulfuric acid and ferric chloride in the plant.
Mark Panella, an assistant fire chief in New Castle, said firefighters worked to contain fumes coming out of the plant by squirting a fog over them.
He said one New Castle firefighter has filed an accident report because of a sore throat and trouble breathing, two symptoms associated with inhaling harmful amounts of sulfuric acid fumes.
That firefighter wore a mask all day, he said.
Fire Chief Tom Maciarello said the firefighter appears to be getting better.
Maciarello said he’d heard of no one else with similar symptoms. Anyone who does experience symptoms should go to the hospital, he added.
Maciarello said the county hazardous materials team tested the air around 7 p.m. Thursday night, and it was clear.
starmack@vindy.com