Company upset about firefighters’ response time for Madison warehouse fire
An attorney for the metal recycling company that owns two warehouses that burned down in Madison last week says it took too long for firefighters to respond to the massive fire.
“Everyone, everyone is concerned about why there was … this monstrous gap in time between the call for a containable fire and the response,” said Albert Watkins, the attorney for Interco. “When you have a containable fire, obviously, time is of the essence.”
Based on BND interviews with Madison, Granite City and Venice officials, the response time appeared to be in the range of 25 to 26 minutes. The Aug. 10 fire was reported about 9:38 a.m. to the Madison Police Department, with Venice firefighters responding at 10:02 a.m. and Granite City firefighters arriving at the scene about 10:04 a.m.
Watkins, the attorney for Interco, said in an initial interview the company believes it took 40 minutes for the first firefighters to arrive at the scene. Asked later about the BND’s reporting on response time, he said, “I can tell you those numbers are inconsistent with the timeline that we have.”
Madison Fire Chief Dave Klee said the response time is under investigation.
Madison Mayor John Hamm III pushed back on Watkins’ criticism about response time. “My only question is how long did it take them (Interco) to actually call in the fire? That’s going to be a critical number there as far as me making a comment on that.”
Watkins, asked about Hamm’s comment, responded: “My suggestion to you is that that is ridiculous.”
Agencies investigate fire
The fire happened on the morning of Aug. 10 and continued into the afternoon at the Interco site on Fox Industrial Drive.
The state fire marshal is investigating the cause, but the agency has not released any updates. Watkins said a piece of equipment apparently caused the blaze, but he didn’t release other details. He added that car batteries stored by Interco did not trigger the fire.
The fire also is under investigation by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
An Interco employee who was injured has been treated at a hospital and released, Watkins said. Officials said one firefighter suffered a heat-related illness but was treated at the scene and released.
Klee, the Madison fire chief, said 35 to 40 fire departments responded to the fire.
The fire prompted a shelter-in-place order for residents within a one-mile radius of the Interco site. The order was lifted the day after the fire. The Madison County Emergency Management Agency had announced that people sensitive to fine particulate matter found in smoke should take precautions.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for Madison and St. Clair counties since the Interco warehouse is located in Madison County near the border with St. Clair County.
“A disaster proclamation grants the State of Illinois the ability to expedite the use of state resources, personnel, or equipment to help affected communities recover,” the governor’s office said in a news release.
When was the fire reported?
Here’s what the News-Democrat has learned about the response time for firefighters for the Aug. 10 fire:
The Madison Police Department received a call about the fire about 9:38 a.m., according to Chief Jeffrey Bridick.
Granite City firefighters arrived at 10:04 a.m. after getting a call for assistance about nine minutes earlier as part of a mutual-aid system used by area fire departments, according to Granite City Fire Chief Rich Wilson.
Venice Mayor Tyrone Echols said a log book shows the nearby Venice Fire Department received a call for help at 9:52 a.m. and firefighters were “responding” at 10:02 a.m. The records don’t say when the Venice firefighters arrived, but Echols said the station is about seven blocks from the Interco site.
Hamm said Madison firefighters arrived at the scene at 10:07 a.m.
He noted that Madison firefighters are volunteers, and they hold other full-time jobs. Some of the firefighters were given permission by their employers to respond to the Interco fire.
In contrast, the Granite City Fire Department has paid, full-time firefighters.
Bridick said that he and another officer arrived at Interco about 9:39 a.m., which was about a minute after getting the call for help.
Bridick said he saw heavy smoke billowing from a warehouse while his colleague, who took a different route to the site, saw flames coming from the building.
Echols said he was “insulted” to hear about criticism of the response time of the “brave people” who responded to the fire.
Hamm said firefighters were able to use Madison’s hydrants to get water to fight the fire, but at least one hydrant on Interco’s property did not work. Granite City Fire Chief Rich Wilson said that the first hydrant that his firefighters tried to use did not work.
Watkins acknowledged that one hydrant on Interco’s property did not work but he said there were at least four others that did.
Previous fire
While the cleanup and investigations are underway after last week’s fire, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office continues to review what happened in a 2020 warehouse fire at the Interco site.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency gave state prosecutors a referral in September regarding a March 11, 2020, warehouse fire at the Interco site off Fox Industrial Drive.
“The referral concerned remediation of soil and groundwater at the facility due to the impact of the fire,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement sent to the News-Democrat. “We are continuing to review the matter and have been in communication with the Illinois EPA and Interco as we work to ensure the public and environment are protected.”
Watkins said Interco is cooperating with all of the investigators.
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 10:59 AM.
