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Fire investigated at Oregon hazardous waste treatment facility

The Oregon Fire Department is investigating the cause of a Thursday afternoon fire at Envirosafe.

OREGON, OH (Toledo News Now) - The Oregon Fire Department is investigating the cause of a Thursday afternoon fire at Envirosafe.

Heavy black smoke was seen rising from Enviro Safe Services on Otter Creek Road near York Road in Oregon.

The fire was put out by 6:30 p.m. Police say the building that was burning has arsenic and lead contamination.

The company accepts hazardous waste and puts it in barrels, which are then loaded into underground cells and capped. Materials are brought there from out of state.

Oregon Fire Assistant Chief Mark Mullins says an excavator inside a storage building caught fire.

"That excavator was in the Southeast corner," said Mullins. "It had no effect on any materials that were around or inside the building. It was self contained."

Twenty six firefighters from three Oregon fire stations attacked the blaze. Crews were rotated in and out because the stifling heat and humidity. Eventually, foam was used to extinguish the flames.

A Police and Fire dispatcher says there were no evacuation or road closings as a result of the fire.  That same dispatcher says there were no Enviro Safe workers in or around the building.

Assistant Chief Mullins says at no time was the public at risk.

"The materials they use are hazardous materials," said Mullins. "But those are all controlled inside the building. They have their own drainage system. No effect to the environment or the outside of the building. Everything was contained inside."

He also says Oregon firefighters receive special training on how to handle a hazardous materials fire.

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