U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Summerville Mill Fire

 
Site Contact:
Leo Francendese
OSC

(francendese.leo@epa.gov)

Site Location:
850 Raccoon Creek Road
Summerville, GA 30747
 response.epa.gov/summervillemillfire
NRC#: 1019202

A plastic recycling facilty caught fire the evening of July 27, 2012. The 10 acre facility is housed in an old mill and is fully engulfed in the fire. The County EMA and local officials ordered an evacuation within 1/4 mile circumference of the facility and 1/2 mile downwind (currently east) of the facility. Residents within 5 miles were informed to shelter in place.

The fire was extinguished and all public health advisories were lifted on the morning of July 31st. Over 400 firefighters and 50 agencies participated in this response.

The EPA OSC participated as an IC in the IMT of the Unified Command with the Fire Chief retaining decision making authority. See POLREPS and Documents for details concerning EPA participation (i.e. providing heavy equipment and operators to fight the fire, air monitoring/plume modeling and advisory recommendations, multimedia sampling, identification of additional chemical threats and equipment and operators in management of firefighting floodwaters).
















Taylor Ridge on US27. Image courtesy of Rome News Tribune Photo courtesy of Summerville News early evening of the 27th Fire and smoke Firefighting near the PVC warehouse Response activities and smoke plume Excavator removing plastic material from the fire Ladder truck fighting the facility fire on the east portion of the facility Ladder truck fire fighter directing water on the east portion of the facility fire. AreaRAE set on fire engine to monitor for clorine gas Center portion of facility fire Center portion of facility fire Fire department staging area Heavy equipment arrives on site to assist with plastic material segregation Heavy equipment arrives on site to assist with plastic material segregation Plume seen rising off the fire at the North Georgia Textile Supply facility Plume from a quarter mile south of the site. Plume from the south during the large burn around 10 am. Plume during the large burn around 10 am. Plume viewable from Rome, GA Division B Division B Division B Division C Division B Division A Division A Division A Division B Flooded residential yard near Division C Division C Division A Dozer segregating debris Excavator segregating burning debris Excavator segregating burning debris Division B Division A Pumping from flooded yard Division B Division B Air monitoring at Division A Division A
For additional information, visit the Pollution/Situation Report (Pol/Sitreps) section.