Cleanup ongoing after East Ridge hazmat incident
EAST RIDGE, Tenn. (WDEF) – Chaos ensued overnight in the East Ridge and Brainerd areas.
A truck driver around 9 p.m. Thursday night pulled off of I-24 Eastbound and went into the parking lot in front of the Rave Theater, because they noticed a leak in their truck.
That leak soon turned into a fire.
Courtesy: Chattanooga Fire Department
Chattanooga firefighters say Thursday’s night ordeal started as an odor call in two different locations.
The Special Operations Director for the Chattanooga Fire Department, Rick Boatwright, said, “The first odor investigation was actually where the spill actually started and was identified at.”
A half mile down I-24 Eastbound later, that odor turned into a hazardous situation.
First responders made the call to evacuate a half mile radius of the truck because of the chemicals it was carrying.
Firefighters say the truck was carrying organic peroxide and sodium hydroxide, both chemicals used in various products such as rubber, plastics, soaps and cleaning materials.
They say that when these chemicals catch on fire, it can cause skin irritation and respiratory problems.
The fire from the truck also spread to surrounding liquid that was pouring out of the truck.
Approximately 200 first responders from numerous agencies were on hand to try to contain the situation.
Boatwright said, “They mitigated the incident as quick as they possibly could. I know it did a lot of disruption for residents and everything, that is the protection they had to provide for them.”
The truck is all torn to pieces after being pierced by a nozzle from the Chattanooga Airport Fire Department to inject foam onto the chemicals.
As part of the evacuation, a temporary shelter was set up at the Chris Ramsay Community Center next to Brainerd High School on Moore Road.
The shelter was headed by the city of Chattanooga and the American Red Cross Disaster Team.
One Red Cross volunteer, Kenny Ward, said, “When you are in a crisis situation and you don’t know where to go and someone is able to tell you where to go, that is absolutely what you need.”
The shelter housed approximately 25 people affected by the mandatory evacuation.
The order was lifted around 4:45 a.m. Friday morning.
The Director of Community Centers for Chattanooga, Chris Brown, said, “This is exactly what community centers are here in our community for.”
No injuries occurred as a result of the incident.
Hepaco, an environmental cleanup company, will be onsite for weeks leading the cleanup effort.
Both the EPA and TDEC will monitor local waterways to prevent these chemicals from seeping into them.
Firefighters say they erected dirt mounds around the fire to try preventing as much of the product from spreading from the original source, and the most product has been either destroyed or removed.
Firefighters said they do not have any health concerns, Boatwright said, “At this time, there is no potential for any type of issue going on out there.”
These organizations will be on site for weeks for cleanup and monitoring.
The plaza surrounding the fire including the AMC 18 Theater (formerly the RAVE) and the At Home store will be closed until further notice.
South Terrace between McBrien Road and Spring Creek Road will be closed until further notice as well.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
