Cindy Leise and Melissa Hebert, The Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — Heat and humid­ity are believed to have con­tributed to a large chemical fire Tuesday afternoon in an outdoor skimming pond at United Initiators, 555 Garden St., the same site where a massive explosion occurred in 1993, when the facility was operated by Aztec Cata­lysts.

The blaze Tuesday, involving organic per­oxides, ignited in the pond with a “big boom” at 1:50 p.m., startling Mark Yeaples, who was working on a garbage truck at the Elyria Central Maintenance facility nearby.

“I looked over, and flames were shooting 100 feet in the air,” Yeaples said. “You could smell the burning toxins.”

No one was injured, said United Initiators general manager Paul Caldwell. About 30 of the company’s nearly 60 employees were working when the fire started.

An employee noticed the fire, Caldwell said, and acti­vated the alarm to notify the Elyria Fire Department.

Firefighters from several county departments rushed to the scene. Trucks from Grafton Township, Grafton, Lorain, Amherst, Eaton Town­ship, Avon and Avon Lake were at the site. The Lorain County Emergency Manage­ment Agency also was on hand.

The initial fire was knocked down in about 25 minutes and was contained to the waste­water treatment area, Elyria Fire Chief Richard Benton said. Because there were still flare-ups, a foam was used to smother the fire while the metal equipment was sprayed with water to keep it cool.

The United Initiators facility manufactures organic peroxides, which are used in numerous items ranging from plastics to cosmetics. Organic peroxides, Caldwell explained, are lighter than water. They float to the surface, he said, comparing it to the way oil-andvinegar salad dressing separates. The skimming pond is part of the wastewater treatment system that removes the organic peroxides before the water is released to the city sewer system.

Benton said Tuesday that the Elyria Water Department tested the sewer lines after the fire and found no contaminants.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Both Caldwell and Benton said they believe the weather, with temperatures reaching 88 degrees in Elyria according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, may have been a factor. “We’ve had hotter days where nothing happened,” Benton said. “I’m not really sure why we had the issue today.”

On Tuesday, businesses near United Initiators were evacuated, but no residents were asked to leave their homes and no one reported to EMH Regional Medical Center for treatment, a nursing supervisor said.

Many employees gathered under a large tree for shade in a yard where Woodford Avenue meets Garden Street.

Joe Richardson was working in the front office of a nearby business when the alarm went off.

“Everyone got out fast,” he said. “No problems. It was impressive how fast the Fire Department responded.”

Elyria police Patrolman Scott Willis said the flames were 30 to 40 feet high when he arrived on Garden Street near the Westway Gardens housing complex. The wind pushed a large black cloud toward 15th Street, which eventually dissipated. Police closed Garden Street and Woodford Avenue to traffic.

Gary Payne, an employee of Stevens Painton Corp., saw a large black cloud hanging over the westside manufacturing area and rushed to the scene to determine if any employees of the Gateway Boulevard business had been hurt. “I saw the mushroom cloud, and I came to make sure my guys were OK,” Payne said. Everyone was fine, he said.

Benton said 14 Elyria firefighters initially responded to the call. Seventeen more were called in as emergency manpower to handle other incidents in the city.

Crews were rotated in and out of the fire scene due to the heat, he said.

One thing that helped firefighters knock down the fire so fast, Benton said, is that they are very familiar with operations at United Initiators. The department comes to the facility at least once a year for tours, updates and training on what is done there and what materials are used.

“There’s good communication,” Benton said. “We have an excellent working relationship (with United Initiators). Days like today show it’s paid off.”

Firefighters remained at the scene until 10:30 Tuesday night.

There was no estimate of damage or the cost of cleanup Tuesday night, Caldwell said.

Tuesday night was spent assessing damages, which were confined to the wastewater treatment area, Caldwell said.

He could not say when the plant would be up and running, but workers were to report for their scheduled shifts.

The scope of Tuesday’s incident pales when compared to the blasts on Aug. 27, 1993, which destroyed two buildings at the same Garden Street facility.

No one was seriously injured in the 1993 blast, which occurred just after midnight and caused the evacuation of about 6,000 residents.

Dozens of Elyria residents were treated for eye and respiratory irritation, possibly from hydrochloric acid fumes.

Lorain attorney Robert Gary said Tuesday’s fire was quite different from the explosions nearly 17 years ago that woke people up and cracked foundations of nearby homes.

“The damage was primarily caused by shock waves because they were such huge explosions,” Gary said.

Gary’s firm won a $21.5 million settlement resulting in payments of more than $1,000 for each man, woman and child who was evacuated in an area that reached all the way to East Avenue.

United Initiators is headquartered in Pullach, Germany, and operates production facilities for organic peroxides in Elyria and Banksmeadow, Australia, and for inorganic peroxides in Shanghai, China.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com and Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

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