
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 13, 1991                   TAG: 9104130468
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COEBURN                                LENGTH: Medium

BATTERY ACID RUNS OFF AFTER FIRE IN COEBURN

A fire that destroyed the Coeburn Produce building and the town's rescue squad headquarters Thursday proved to be a headache for hazardous-material experts.

Workers on the scene Friday in Wise County succeeded in neutralizing acid from thousands of stored automobile batteries.

Workers were testing acid levels in the runoff of water used to fight the blaze, and they placed plastic on the burned batteries to prevent rain from causing further spread, said Janet Clements, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Services.

They also built dikes to prevent runoff from reaching a creek.

If acid levels are still high, the team might have to further treat the area, Clements said.

The building stored various types of recyclable materials, including about 2,000 car batteries, said hazardous-materials officer Jack Tolbert. It also stored 1,000 pounds of dried herbs and wild cherry wood, he said.

Some of the 40,000 pounds of batteries melted in the fire, mixing acid and lead with the runoff of water, he said.

Clements said hazardous-materials experts also tested the cherry wood and determined it was harmless. If enough wood had burned, poisonous cyanide gas could have been released, officials said.

Coeburn firefighter Mike Riggs said the fire apparently began in the back corner of the building and quickly spread to the top floor and the adjacent rescue squad building.

"By the time we got there, it was already going through the roof," said Riggs, whose department arrived at the scene about 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Fire units from Coeburn, Norton and Wise brought the blaze under control by noon, Riggs said.

The rescue squad building "looks like a total loss," said squad Capt. Tommy Dingus, a 16-year veteran. "But as far as any interruption of service, I don't see any.

"Some of us may try to keep some of the trucks at our houses. Everybody will just have to sort of pitch in."

Although four vehicles and other equipment was saved, Dingus said much was still lost - pictures of old squads, for example, and files recording its history.

"I know it's just a building," Dingus said. "But it's 16 years of my life."

by CNB