Transcript Slide 1

PLASTIMET FIRE
July 9 – 12th, 1997
Where did Plastimet take place?
• In an old smelting factory called Usarco
located at 363 Wellington St. N., in
Hamilton.
What was Usarco?
• It was a smelting company that melted
down all types of metals into liquid form.
• Liquid was recast into ingots and resold.
• Mercury was used to break down some of
the metals in the smelting process.
Previous Fires at Usarco?
• Mercury was found at previous fires at this
location.
• A huge clean up was ordered to take
place.
• Before this took place, the owners created
a plastic recycling plant in the factory.
Plastimet
• This location became the site of one of the
largest Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) fires in
North American history.
• This is known as “Plastimet”.
What is Plastimet?
• A site that contained approximately 4000
cubic tonnes of burning PVC.
• It included PVC products that were
brought to this site for shredding and
compacting into bales, such as plastic
from automobiles, computer shells, plastic
bottles, etc.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• At approximately 7.00 p.m. on
Wednesday, July 9th, 1997, the Hamilton
Fire Department was dispatched.
• The fire was at the Plastimet building (old
Usarco).
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• The Fire Department didn’t know what lay
ahead since this was a newly formed
business in a building that should have
been condemned.
• This is what first responders saw when
arriving at the scene
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• When the Platoon Chief arrived at the
scene, saw the heavy black smoke and
the size of the structure, he immediately
upgraded to a 3 Alarm Fire.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• Within one hour of the start of the fire,
there was approximately 18 fire trucks,
100 firefighters, an unknown numbers of
police officers, paramedics, ambulance
personnel on scene and 100’s of area
citizens watching as this fire grew out of
control.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• At some point during the first night of the
fire, every firefighter on duty in the City of
Hamilton was at this fire.
• This next picture is a photograph of the
fire scene 1 hour into the fire, casting a
huge cloud of heavy black smoke over the
city of Hamilton.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• 10,000 gallons of water every minute were
pumped onto the fire.
• Large pools of water were forming because the
sewer system was inadequate.
• The first responding pump at Wellington and
Simcoe St. was submerged in water past the
exhaust pipe.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• Firefighters’ feet and legs were being soaked
with hydrochloric acid laced water because the
water was coming up over top of their boots.
• The water had become so deep that Philips
Environmental was called in to suck up all the
overflow water.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• At 8:33 p.m. the Hamilton Wentworth Detention
Centre, the Hamilton General and Henderson
Hospital were advised to close their air intakes
reflecting the speed and strength of the plume.
• City hospitals were placed on Code Orange to
be prepared to receive some of the General’s
218 patients on a moments standby.
Plastimet Fire - Day 1
• The General’s emergency department was
cleared for the influx of patients suffering from
smoke inhalation.
• That evening, firefighters began to arrive in the
emergency department because of heat
exhaustion and smoke inhalation.
Plastimet Fire - Day 2
• Thursday morning, July 10th was an extremely
hot day which caused a weather condition
known as a “heat inversion”.
• This is where warm air off the escarpment
meets cool air coming off the lake which forms a
lid trapping smoke and causing a toxic fog.
Plastimet Fire - Day 2
• By evening, the condition had worsened to
where firefighters arriving on the scene held
hands walking down the street trying not to lose
each other or trip over the hose.
• The Ministry of the Environment air tests
showed a significant worsening of benzenes
and chlorobenzenes.
Plastimet Fire - Day 2
• Industries in the area were closed as employees
reported becoming sick with headaches and
throat and eye irritation.
• 50 police officers were on standby for a
potential evacuation.
Plastimet Fire - Day 3
• At 3:30 a.m. a meeting took place with Dr.
Marilyn James about the five fold increase in the
benzene levels.
• An evacuation was now ordered that would take
place at 8:00 a.m.
• A state of emergency was declared.
Plastimet Fire - Day 3
• The evacuation covered an eleven block radius,
including 650 residences and 35 businesses.
• During the evacuation, police officers were
wearing air filtered masks going door to door.
• By mid-day, the main blaze had been knocked
down but firefighters continued to pour water on
the smouldering rubble to extinguish the bales
of plastic.
Plastimet Fire - Day 3
• By Friday evening, area hospitals had reported
a large increase in admissions of people with
respiratory problems including 8 firefighters.
• At 11:00 p.m., 20 firefighters were sent from the
fire to the General’s Emergency Ward for
treatment.
• Symptoms included headaches, dizziness,
nausea and burning skin.
Plastimet Fire - Day 3
• Firefighters were told to remove all their clothing
and bag it because of contamination.
• Medical staff noticed nickel-size sores on their
faces, necks, hands, feet and legs.
• They asked, “What have you been exposed to?”
• Firefighters were hosed down, treated, dressed
in hospital greens & released around 3:30 a.m.
Plastimet Fire - Day 4
• Day 4 was another extremely hot day.
• Approximately 20 firefighters had booked off
sick after the first 2 nights.
• The major fire was declared out, but many spot
fires continued.
• Firefighters with full protective gear were wading
through the melted plastic and rubble with hand
lines extinguishing spot fires.
Plastimet Fire - Day 4
• The Fire Department brought in heavy
equipment from Stelco to separate the
smouldering piles and to extinguish them.
• The front-end loaders from Stelco could
withstand the extreme heat.
• This was a lesson learned from the Hagersville
fire.
Plastimet Fire - Day 4
• In the end, 264 of Hamilton’s 400 firefighters
had played some role at that scene.
• Nearly 99 million litres of water were poured on
the fire.
• More than 4,000 tonnes of plastic burned for 4
days, although spot fires burned for up to 3
weeks.
Plastimet Fire - Day 4
• Firefighters had to decontaminate all the trucks
that were at the scene by wearing fully
encapsulated suits.
• The trucks had become corroded, pitted and
rusted within the 4 days.
• Chunks from the radiators and the exhaust fell
off some of the pumpers and ladder trucks.
Plastimet Fire - Day 4
• The fire trucks had to be sandblasted.
• The indestructible bunker suits, made to
withstand fire, dried up like paper, ripped and
had to be thrown away.
Plastimet Fire – The Weeks Following
• In the following weeks, a survey was conducted
and showed 86% of all firefighters who were
involved in Plastimet had reported some health
effects.
• The majority reported throat and eye irritations,
headaches and coughs that lasted several days,
up to weeks.
Plastimet Fire – The Weeks Following
• Other complaints included burning nasal
cavities, stinging skin, skin rash, speaking
discomfort, stomach aches, chest tightness, odd
taste in the mouth, running and plugged noses,
diarrhea, phlegm, itching, shortness of breath,
wheezing, nausea, peeling skin, tingly hands,
arms and feet, fever and vomiting.
Plastimet Fire – In Summary
• More than 45 firefighters lost time from work
and 160 sought medical attention.
• Due to the number of ill firefighters, the City of
Hamilton and the Hamilton Professional
Firefighters Association created a long-term
medical surveillance program funded by the
corporation for 25 years.
Plastimet Fire – The Effects To-Date
• In the 11 years following Plastimet, 1 firefighter’s
death and 4 other cancers have been directly
related to this fire.
• Many respiratory illnesses have surfaced post
Plastimet.