Another environmental emergency erupts as a warehouse fire in Kissimmee, Florida, is causing massive plumes of black smoke to rise into the sky.
Raging 5-acre Florida fire burns plastic pots outside Kissimmee nursery plant warehouse https://t.co/eUfdONfR1i
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 16, 2023
Emergency personnel including fire crews from Osceola County, Orange County, and Kissimmee Fire Department are working to subdue the blaze. The fire started after five acres of plastic planters caught fire at a nursery supply company, according to a report by local news channel WFTV. At this time the authorities are tracking air quality in the area. WFTV shared footage of the fire that showed a massive amount of black smoke visible from two miles away.
Unfortunately, this is not the first chemical disaster in recent history as the warehouse fire comes after a Norfolk Southern train carrying industrial chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. The derailment raised concerns about air and water quality in the Ohio River Basin, concerns still felt today. After the train accident authorities evacuated all residents within one mile of the crash. They also started a controlled burn of the volatile chemicals to decrease the risk of an explosion.
🚨#BREAKING: Firefighters are battling a massive 5 acres warehouse fire with potential hazardous fumes ⁰⁰📌 #Kissimmee l #Florida ⁰
Currently over a 80+ firefighters are battling a Massive 5 acre fire that has broken out a warehouse storing plastic plant pots, fertilizers, and… https://t.co/5czF12Ocvi pic.twitter.com/tIZ3G4UPCX— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 16, 2023
One of the harmful chemicals released was Vinyl chloride, a carcinogen used to manufacture PVC. The chemical gas was released from five train cars last week in the form of massive plumes of dark smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
However, Vinyl chloride isn’t the communities only concern as Norfolk Southern warned the EPA that a number of other dangerous chemicals were present at the derailment site. One train car containing ethylene glycol mono butyl ether currently has an “unknown status.” At the same time, the chemical ethylhexyl acrylate in another car is still “pending.”
Courtesy of Lewis Electric. This is drone video of the warehouse fire at 901 Central Florida Parkway,Orange county where 2 burn patients were taken to ORMC tonight. @WESH pic.twitter.com/R0JmIsj9Q5
— Gail Paschall-Brown (@gpbwesh) December 2, 2022
The EPA issued the full list of substances present at the site. Yet, they only released the list after residents were told they could return to their homes.
