On Monday evening, May 11, 2009, a fire started in Building 4 at the Columbus Chemical Industries facility on Temkin Road in Columbus, located in central Wisconsin. Shortly after fire suppression efforts began, there was an explosion. Due to this explosion and the presence of multiple chemicals in the building, fire officials decided to halt further suppression, move back from the facility and establish an exclusionary zone around the plant.
The Dodge County sheriff set up a unified command that included representatives from numerous fire departments, Wisconsin Emergency Management, the DNR, U.S. EPA, the 54th Civil Support Team of the Army National Guard and state and local health agencies. Unified command called for the evacuation of nearby residences and businesses, a shelter-in-place advisory for the downwind community, closure of State Highways 151 and 73, and perimeter air monitoring.
Heavy rain helped bring the fire under control during the overnight hours on May 14. Columbus Chemical Industries and their insurers retained a team of consultants and chemists to concurrently conduct the fire investigation and clean-up the fire debris. Runoff from the fire was found to be acidic so berms were constructed to create a containment pond. Water that accumulated in the containment pond underwent pre-treatment on-site and then was shipped via vacuum truck for disposal. Fire investigators determined that the most likely cause was electrical.
Continuing chemical reactions in the fire debris required in-situ neutralization prior to containerization and removal. The DNR, with support from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) and EPA, supervised the cleanup of the site. Containerization of all fire debris was completed on May 31. Demolition of the impacted buildings commenced shortly thereafter. The Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, located in Arkansas, conducted on-site and perimeter air monitoring during the cleanup and building demolition. A bottled water advisory that started on May 13 remained in place until June 11, 2009. Evaluation and remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated during the fire is ongoing.
The Columbus Chemical Industries fire presented numerous challenges and threats to public health and the environment. These threats were quickly identified and successfully mitigated. Two key factors in the effective response and successful cleanup included: 1) the early establishment of a unified command; nearly 20 agencies – state, federal and local – worked closely and cooperatively; and 2) the full support and cooperation of the responsible party – Columbus Chemical Industries.
