5 Alarm Fire!

[therock1811]

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/08/19/fire_breaking.html

Queen City Barrel Fire Now Five Alarms

Reported by: John McQuiston, Tom McKee
Web produced by: Stacy Puzo
Photographed by: Mark MacKay, Mark Slaughter, Sean Dunster, Jason Pruitt, Terry Helmer
Last updated: 8/19/2004 9:59:28 PM


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Update 10:39 p.m.: METRO advises that people who's routes are interrupted by the fire to call the detour hotline at: (513) 632-7538.
Update 10:04 p.m.: Four METRO routes have been interrupted by the fire but are being re-routed to allow emergency vehicles access to the fire.
Update 9:04 p.m.: Fire Chief Robert Wright will be holding a news conference at the Wendy's on Guest Street soon.
Update 8:39 p.m.: No formal evacuation has been announced for areas near the fire, but officials are saying people in the direct line of smoke should shelter in place until further notice. These are neighborhoods to the north east of the fire in Lower Price Hill.
Those in the line of smoke should stay inside, close their doors and windows, turn off heating and air conditioning and move to another floor to get away from the smoke. This is advised until the fire is brought under control which fire officials estimate could be around 2 a.m.
Red Cross shelter-in-place info (pdf)


Crews have been battling what is now being called a five alarm fire in the West End since 7 p.m.

Initial reports said the blaze was a three alarm fire that was later upgraded to a five alarm.

The fire is in what is believed to be a building that was part of Queen City Barrel at the corner of South and Woodrow Streets.

There are no reports of injuries at this time.

Smoke is covering several blocks in the are and can be seen billowing from the area. It is not clear whether the fire has spread from its original origin.

Police have shut down many of the main thoroughfares in the area leading to Queensgate and the West End. Traffic is still moving in moth directions on the 8th Street viaduct but access to the area via Dalton Ave and State Street has been blocked.

Queen City METRO is also on the scene as an assistance service to the fire departments.

Sallie Hilvers of METRO said buses are brought in to serve as relief stations for the firefighters, allowing them to get out of the heat and smoke and into an air conditioned environment.

Several former employees of the company have called 9News saying that this building was used as storage for the company and industrial barrels are reconditioned for reuse at that building. There are also a large number of wooden pallets inside.

Explosions can be heard near the scene. Fire officials believe the explosions are the lids of empty barrels inside being popped off by the heat of the fire.

In regards to the contents of the building, one caller said he had never seen so many barrels in one place, as in that building.

An insurance adjustor has already arrived on the scene. Red Cross and Salvation Army crews have also arrived on the scene to assist fire crews that have come from all over Cincinnati to assist firefighters on the scene.

Stay with WCPO.com and WCPO-TV for updates to this story. Please click "refresh" on your browser to view the most recent version of this story.

[Miss Mary]

Jeremy - you beat me to it! I was going to post this also. Fire looks very intense. I'm so glad no one has been hurt so far, including firefighters.

Storms are due to hit the fire at any moment. Officials say the rain may momentarily help but in the long run, since the storms are moving very fast, they won't dump that much rain. And numerous lightning strikes have been reported from these storms, coming from your area Jeremy - northern KY. Lightning isn't going to help the situation.

One local station has suspended regular programming and has covered this fire all along I think. I've noticed older kids, teens, people in their 20s, must milling about, with the fire in the background. Now we're talking chemicals here people!!! Then I saw a couple walk past with their 2 year old in the dad's arms. Hello? Officials are saying if you live nearby, close your windows, turn off A/C and go to a floor to get away from the smoke. If it's too bad, there are shelters being set up I believe. Crazy people!

I'd like to add that many FD's from across the Cincinnati area have been called in to fight this fire, including Anderson's FD (where I live). This fire is visible from many area's along the riverfront I imagine. If you were say driving thru Cincinnati on I-75 north/south, you'd see it. If you were flying over our downtown area, heading to our airport located in Northern KY, you'd be able to see it. This is a major news story tonight.

Mary

[therock1811]

It is still somewhat a major story today... WCPO had the most extensive coverage from around 7pm to 11:30- sadly, WKRC didn't have much coverage until the 11:00 news but they did cover it extensively during the 11pm broadcast. And WLWT-well, we saw what was more important last night, didn't we?

[Miss Mary]

I noticed that also Jeremy. I can forgive Channel 5 (NBC) - they had the Olympics on. But Channel 12 had on regular programming last night. Ch. 9 really covered this story well! Maybe 12 is good at wx reporting? Before you answer that, I already know the answer - I always turn to 12 when local severe wx breaks out. 12 and TWC. And Storm2K of course too!

Mary

[therock1811]

Yeah I don't have to answer that! They are really good at the wx but they didn't do too well with last night at ALL...and I do intend to ask why that was! But I didn't even learn of this until 9pm seeing as I wasn't home for reasons everyone here knows! The way I found out was, around 9:30 my NOAA WX radio went off and I turned it on to hear of the shelter in place order, after which they said to turn to local media outlets, which I promptly did.

[therock1811]

I noticed that also Jeremy. I can forgive Channel 5 (NBC) - they had the Olympics on. But Channel 12 had on regular programming last night. Ch. 9 really covered this story well! Maybe 12 is good at wx reporting? Before you answer that, I already know the answer - I always turn to 12 when local severe wx breaks out. 12 and TWC. And Storm2K of course too!

Mary

Sorry, but I can't forgive them...I mean if there's a local story, I don't care what you have to pre-empt (that is, take off the air for a specified period), you NEED to cover it!