At approximately 1330 on Monday, June 25, 2007, a five-alarm fire at the former Alford refrigeration warehouse sent large plumes of black smoke into the air and downtown Dallas. The 440,000 square-foot former warehouse is located at 300 Cadiz Street immediately southwest of downtown Dallas.
The EPA response duty officer, OSC Martin, was mobilized from the Dallas regional office to investigate. OSC Martin was peparred to provide air monitoring assistance but since there were no suspected hazardous materials involved in the blaze, it was determined that immediate air monitoring was not necessary.
A company demolishing the warehouse, Lioyd Nabors Dmolition, stated the cause of the fire was most probably two metal beams that fell and struck each other thereby causing sparks to catch nearby trash on fire. Moderate winds from the south spread the fire throughout the warehouse which had already been partially demolished. They also stated that the warehouse had been inspected and approved for demo and that no hazardous materials were left in the building.
While the fire had been brought under control, the Dallas Fire Department will continue to remain onsite because of several remaining hot spots inside the building. The demolition contractors will assist the Fire Department by utilizing their heavy machinery to remove the roof to get to the hot spots.
Media attention and public concern was great due to the high visibility of the plume.
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