Textile Mill Fire: Hot Spots Keep Residents Away Another Day (Updated)
Posted on: Sunday, 11 June 2006, 18:00 CDT
By Clif Leblanc, The State, Columbia, S.C.
Jun. 11--Hot spots that erupted Saturday night at a former textile mill have authorities looking Sunday for a better way to combat the smoldering fire and also kept 1,000 Great Falls residents away from home a sixth day.
The eruptions that can produce more toxic fumes forced firefighters, who had made progress Saturday, to back off for a while, the state environmental agency said.
"New problems are creating the need for new methods of fighting the fire," the Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a news release.
The agency did not provide details.
Firefighters need heavy equipment capable of knocking down concrete and steel so they can flatten the remaining parts of what once was the J.P. Steven No. 3 mill, said Emergency Management director Eddie Murphy.
Recently, portions of the building were being used by a PVC piping business.
The cause of the fire that broke out Tuesday in the town of about 2,200 remains unclear.
Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency Thursday.
Friday, National Guard helicopters began dropping thousands of gallons of water and fire retardants on the fire.
By Saturday afternoon, tests for hydrochloric acid found normal air-quality levels around the mill.
Health officials were considering allowing evacuees to return Sunday if remaining hot spots did not flare.
The collapse of the mill's roof makes it difficult to get to locations that are under the debris, officials have said.
Some evacuees grew agitated on Saturday despite the encouraging air-quality reports and assurances from health officials that town water is safe.
"My main concern is long-term effects," Sherrie Brice, who lives about a block from the mill told the Rock Hill Herald.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The State, Columbia, S.C.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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Source: The State (Columbia, S.C.)
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