Four Alarm Chemical Fire Area Evacuated, Mount Vernon, NY
Update 6:55 am Saturday, March 30, 2008 –
Air-quality tests and checks for any hazardous material oozing from KEM Chemical Corp. found no dangerous contamination as of early Saturday, according to authorities.
A fire captain was treated and released from a hospital after twisting a knee at the fire scene; no other injuries were reported, firefighters said.
Investigators have not determined what caused the blaze.
Source: ap.google.com via politisite
Update 11:33 pm –
By 11 p.m., more than four hours after the fire was first reported, the company’s facilities on South Fulton Avenue had collapsed, the Fire Department said. An area of several square blocks around the fire had been cordoned off, with no one allowed inside.
Fire officials said the fast-moving blaze ate away the walls of the warehouse.
The risks to nearby residents were unclear late Friday. In general, inhaling the acids can cause coughing, a burning sensation or other irritation to the respiratory tract. Inhaling acetone, often used in nail polish remover, can causea nausea or headaches.
KEM Chemical specializes in supplying acids and other chemicals for microelectronics manufacturers, according to its Web site. The 47-year-old business is a relatively small player, often producing chemicals in volumes smaller than the manufacturers want to make for themselves
Source: msnbc.msn.com via politisite
Update 11:03 pm – Address is KEM Chemical at 545 S. Fulton Ave. The Fire is under control but residence should still remain inside
Update 10:43 pm – Status changed to Four Alam Fire. Building my contain Hydrocloric Acid, Nitric Acid, and Sulfuric Acid, Residence are asked to close windows and stay indoors.
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) — A fire at a chemical warehouse in a New York City suburb is releasing hazardous chemicals into the air and residents are being urged to shut their windows and stay indoors.
The Mount Vernon Fire Department says firefighters are battling the four-alarm blaze and the Health Department is at the scene.
The Fire Department says the building may have contained hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid and acetone. Some adjoining buildings have also caught fire.
Mount Vernon is about 20 miles northeast of New York City.
Source: ap.google.com via politisite
Update 10:18 pm – video is available at
http://www.myfoxny.com/
Update 10:17 Pm – Chemical Fire Burns in Mount Vernon
Firefighters battled a raging fire at a hazardous waste plant in Westchester County. The four-alarm fire prompted the closing of a five-block radius around the plant. The fire spread to at least three adjacent commercial buildings. Reports say that people in nearby communities, including the Bronx, could smell the fire
Source: myfoxny.com via politisite
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — A chemical fire at Kem Chemicals Corporation in Mount Vernon, N.Y. has prompted officials to evacuate a three-block radius around the S. Fulton Avenue warehouse.
The three-alarm blaze, that started at about 7:30 p.m., is still in progress. No injuries have been reported.
Source: wnbc.com via politisite
Tags: Albert | avenue | FULTON | MOUNT VERNON | York | Blaze | chemical | corporation | Emergencies | EVACUATE | fire | injuries | Milliron | New | NY | politisite | prompts | reported | three-alarm | World
