KENNEWICK — After one of the largest structure fires in the Northwest burned for almost two months this spring in the Tri-Cities, federal, state and local officials are considering what could have been done differently and what still needs to be done.
The lessons learned from the Lineage cold storage warehouse fire in Finley could help not only in the Mid-Columbia region where increasingly massive industrial buildings are being built, but also in other areas in Washington and nearby states, they said after the recent meeting organized by the Benton Franklin Health District.
One thing that caught officials off guard were the limitations on help for building fires. Some Washington laws limit state help specifically for wildfires that are more likely to burn for days, weeks or months.
Finley residents “inundated with smoke not for one or two or three days. This was weeks. This was two months,” said Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Walla Walla, who represents the area where the fire burned.
If the smoke had been from a wildfire, residents would have been eligible for more help to relocate temporarily, Dozier said. But the Washington law specifically designates help for smoky conditions from wildlfires, he explained.
“Smoke is smoke,” he said. “… It triggers the same impacts.”
Except that smoke from a long-burning structure fire may be more hazardous than wildfire smoke, because of what’s burning, said officials.
New legislation might help to better document building materials to help identify potential harmful emissions, said participants at the meeting.
Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, and Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, agreed with Dozier that legislation to better address the impacts of large industrial fires is needed.
Smoke, fire legislation possible
Legislators at the meeting, which included Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, are just in the early stages of looking at current Washington state law to see what changes or additions could aid in future large structure fires.
They will be considering whether some wildfire smoke legislation could be expanded to also provide help during long-burning industrial fires, including help for people exposed to smoke for long periods.
Annual inspections could help in reducing the risks of fires or their impacts, along with the possibility of a statewide map to provide information on large industrial sites, Boehnke said.
Work could also be done to make sure trained response teams are ready, he said.
Connors and Boehnke both are interested in making sure the right types of equipment and air monitors are available, including flexible air monitors that can be stored and used for training until they are needed for a fire with nearby residents who need information about air quality hazards.
For the Lineage fire, 13 air quality sensors eventually were set up to supplement permanent monitors when concerns about smoke increased.
Benton County Commissioner Will McKay said that more is needed to be done much sooner to help people and animals caught in the smoke for weeks at a time, to deploy additional air monitors and to provide information to area residents.
The smoke was so thick and pervaded areas near the smoldering fire for so long that it destroyed wallpaper, he said. At times air quality close to Lineage was rated as “hazardous.”
Residents also talked about the impacts to their farm animals, talking about cows that were sick and livestock that avoided drinking water from troughs sitting in the smoke, he said.
Some animals were kept temporarily at the Benton County Fairgrounds.
Boehnke said emergency animal response plans, such as one prepared in Klickitat County, could be helpful to have ready
Legislators said that water quality and its eventual impact on Finley area wells is another concern as water that was contaminated from fighting the fire moves through the soil and reaches the shallow groundwater and wells. More than 30 million gallons of water were poured on the fire.
Legislation might be able to help with expanding groundwater flow modeling in the area or testing well water, which might not be contaminated until years from now.
The need for money for post-fire restoration work also was discussed.
Several participants discussed the need for Lineage to step up with help for the Finley community. To date it has donated filters and masks at the request of local officials, they said.
Lineage, a global warehousing company based in Detroit, Mich., operates 400 warehouses in 18 countries, focusing on temperature controlled facilities that handle food products.
Lineage fire costs of $1M+
According to the health district, the fire costs to the state and local agencies easily topped $1 million:
- The rural Benton Fire District 1’s efforts cost nearly $877,000 for command staff, a command post and the hourly budgeted costs for engines, tenders, ladder trucks and other equipment, which include staff, fuel, staff food, maintenance and other costs of operations.
- Benton Franklin Health District staff time cost $52,000 over three months, plus $33,000 for community and response supplies.
- The state of Washington spent $100,000 on medical logistic supplies, plus additional money for loaned air monitors and staff time.
- The Washington state Department of Commerce contributed an Emergency Rapid Response Grant of $300,000.
The Lineage fire began April 21 and destroyed a building that once covered 12 acres to store ready-to-ship produce, including potatoes, corn, carrots and peas.
The fire burned for almost two months as the Benton Fire District 1 had trouble spraying water far enough to reach the building’s center. Fire officials considered the structure too unstable to send firefighters in on foot.
The fire left 90,000 tons debris, much of it rotting vegetables.
The participants in the health department meeting to discuss next steps, in addition to state legislators, health officials and McKay, included U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash; aides to Washington’s U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Gov. Jay Inslee; employees of the Washington state Departments of Ecology and Health; and employees of Benton County Emergency Service and Benton Fire District 1.
The Benton Franklin Health District has comprehensive information on the Lineage fire response posted at bfhd.wa.gov.
