Dump Fire Complicated by Generation Of Chlorine Gas, Hydrochloric Acid
by Dave Fornell.
MEL GOODWIN
Most dump fires are merely nuisances, but one in Arkansas posed the immediate danger of chlorine gas generation and the added threat of hydrochloric acid in the runoff of water that might be applied to the fire.
The Gassville Volunteer Fire Department received a call on Tuesday night, Nov. 6, 1979, that there was a dump on fire about 8 miles north of town. (Gassville is 10 miles west of Mountain Home, Ark., near the Missouri border.) The fire department responded and found a private dump with a fire covering about an acre. The department expended its booster tank on the fire with no effect.
The local representative of the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology arrived on the scene and said the dump consisted primarily of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wastes and putting water on it would create hydrochloric acid runoff that might pollute the local creek and then the White River. The State Department of Pollution Control and Ecology has responsibility for dumps.
State agencies notified
The Gassville Fire Department then returned to its station. Both the Office of Emergency Services (state civil defense) and the State Department of Health were notified of the fire. The two agencies responded to the scene and, along with Pollution Control and Ecology, monitored the air and smoke in the area. In the area of the fire, some toxic fumes were found but not in any quantity. The air and smoke one quarter mile from the fire was free of toxic fumes. From Tuesday night to Friday morning, the wind was out of the southwest, blowing away from the populated area. On Friday, the wind shifted to the north, and blew the smoke over populated areas to the south and east. At this time, the health monitors did not detect any dangerous toxic levels more than 100 yards from the fire. By this time, the fire had involved about 2½ acres.
Inquiries led to the discovery that the owner of the dump had died on the Sunday preceding the fire. The materials in the dump were from Baxter-Travenol Labs, Inc. Baxter manufactures medical supplies, such as IV bags, tubing and needles. The waste polyvinyl chloride, along with goods that did not pass quality control, were disposed of under contract with the dump owner.
The dump was in hilly terrain on sandy, rocky soil. A ravine about 65 feet deep had been filled in with the waste, but apparently it had not been covered at regular intervals with dirt as required.
Problem discussed
The following Tuesday, Nov. 13, while I was director of the Arkansas Fire Academy in Camden, I received a telephone call from the Office of Emergency telling me an airplane would pick me up at noon to fly to the Mountain Home Airport with the OES director and the director of Pollution Control and Ecology. The three of us arrived at about 2:30 p.m. and surveyed the scene from the air and then on the ground. We discussed possible solutions, such as burying the dump (ruled out because the chlorine gas being generated was an oxidizer) or allowing the dump to burn out (ruled out because of the length of time involved and the steadily increasing toxicity of the smoke). When asked for my recommendation, I said the fire should be extinguished.
The problems associated with fighting the fire were discussed on the flight back to Little Rock. The distance to the river (1.8 miles) and the 500-foot rise to the dump ruled out the possibility of relay pumping. Several ponds were closer, so the possibility of using these was discussed.
Wednesday morning, a temperature inversion coupled with a rise in toxicity forced the evacuation of several homes in the area. With this development, Governor William Clinton declared a disaster and ordered state agencies to take necessary actions to eliminate the hazard.
The Fire Academy was directed to proceed to the dump fire, approximately 260 miles from Camden, with equipment to extinguish the fire. As director of the Fire Academy, I was placed in charge to organize the area volunteer fire departments to combat the blaze. The National Guard sent a truck to Camden to pick up 3000 feet of 3-inch hose, deluge sets and other equipment. On the way north, the truck stopped in Little Rock at a fire equipment dealer and picked up 850 feet of 5-inch hose and the necessary adapters.
The Fire Academy responded with a 1000-gpm quint, a van and the director’s station wagon.
Strategy meeting held
Two academy instructors and I arrived with the equipment about 6 p.m. Wednesday and we set up a strategy meeting with the local fire chiefs. At this meeting, it was decided not to relay pump because the ponds were low from lack of rain. The fire departments were polled for equipment and it was discovered that one had a portable folding tank. It was decided to truck the water to the site and use the academy’s quint to draft from the portable tank.
It was decided to use the academy equipment so as not to tie up the local fire department’s equipment. It was also decided to use dozers to separate the burning material and to wet it down with l½-inch hose, using fog patterns. This would limit the amount of water used and also prevent excessive runoff.
After agreement by the various agencies, the operation was started by 10 p.m. Wednesday. The Office of Emergency Services provided coordination and communications via repeaters. The Department of Pollution Control and Ecology monitored runoff, constructed dams and neutralized the runoff. The Department of Health monitored the air quality. The Arkansas Highway Department provided two dozers and dump truck tankers to haul water. The local fire departments provided manpower. These men were paid by the State of Arkansas for their time. The Arkansas National Guard provided the emergency lighting. The Arkansas Fire Academy supervised the fire fighting.
The dozers worked from the upwind side and peeled the burning material from the pile as fire fighters wet down the material in front of the blade. A second crew kept a water curtain between the fire and the dozer. Two teams operated in this manner until the fire was extinguished about midnight, Friday, Nov. 16.
More tankers obtained
It was discovered early Thursday morning, when the operation was well under way, that the tankers could not keep up the water supply, so a local gasoline distributor was contacted to supply three 8000-gallon semi-tankers to haul water. This solved the water supply problem and when the operation was completed, a total of 465,000 gallons of water had been hauled.
The dump was very slick because of the water and the plastics. Another problem was the surgical needles that had been dumped in large quantities. The dump was also in a ravine on a steep hillside and this added to the complications. No one was injured, although some hose was punctured and when tested later, it looked like “lawn-soaker hose.” Also, many pairs of boots were ruined. This pointed out the importance of proper protective clothing, such as steel insoles.
The deepest burn in the dump was only 6 feet after burning seven days. Since the dump was up to 65 feet deep, it would have burned for a long time. The toxicity greatly increased by Friday and early that morning, a temperature inversion made eyes water in Mountain Home, 10 miles away, and forced fire fighters to leave the dump for over an hour.
Runoff neutralized
The runoff was contained in two holding ponds and was neutralized with soda ash. The runoff had a pH of 1, which is a strong hydrochloric acid. As of last March, no water wells have shown any contamination.
The entire operation went smoothly because of the good cooperation among the agencies. Some local volunteer fire fighters took off from their jobs to provide the necessary manpower for the hard and dirty work. The Cotter Fire Department provided its new 1000-gpm pumper to relay pump as lines were extended to the rear of the fire. In all, men and equipment from 11 fire departments worked on the fire in shifts. The operation was continuous from Wednesday evening until midnight Friday, except for the hour Friday morning. Work resumed at 8 a.m. Saturday to check for hot spots and the hard work of picking up.
The State of Arkansas paid for equipment rental, including the Cotter pumper and the gasoline tankers. It also paid for all expenses of the state agencies and an hourly rate to the volunteer fire fighters. The total bill came to approximately $28,600.
