On May 11, 2009, at approximately 8:00 pm, a fire occurred at the Columbus Chemical Industries (CCI) facility on Temkin Road in Columbus (Dodge County), WI. Shortly after fire suppression efforts began, there was an explosion. This prompted fire officials to cease fire suppression, establish an exclusionary zone of ½ mile radius around the plant, issue a shelter in place advisory for the downwind community, and close Highways 73 and 151.
Using air models developed by the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center and air monitoring data collected by fire officials, the 54th Civil Support Team, and U.S. EPA, Unified Command incrementally lifted the shelter in place advisory and shrunk the exclusionary zone. The fire continued to burn until approximately 1:00 am on May 14, 2009. Six residences and four businesses were advised to remain evacuated, as a precautionary measure, throughout the duration of the fire. Community air monitoring was conducted throughout the duration of the fire.
The runoff from the fire was tested by U.S. EPA and determined to be acidic. CCI constructed berms around the impacted drainage ditch to contain the runoff and stormwater. Water collected in the containment pond underwent pre-treatment on-site and was shipped via vac truck to a disposal facility.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS), the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP), and U.S. EPA worked collectively to test neighboring properties for residual contamination and cleared them for resumed use. A bottled water advisory was in place until June 11, 2009.
The site was turned over to CCI on May 14, 2009. U.S. EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) are overseeing the clean-up of the site. On-site and perimeter air monitoring during the fire debris clean-up and building demolition was conducted by the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health. The fire investigation, which concluded on May 29, 2009, was conducted concurrently with the clean-up due to the hazards created by the continuing chemical reactions in the fire debris. These continuing reactions required in-situ neutralization prior to containerization and removal. Containerization of all fire debris (excluding the building structure) was completed on May 31, 2009. Buildings 4 and 5 were demolished immediately thereafter. Contaminated soil under the building slabs and from the runoff is being evaluated and will be excavated/remediated as necessary.
