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Fire leaves behind questions, few health concerns

A 50-foot pile of 3,000 scrap autos on fire at Franklin Iron & Metal, 2015 E. First St. in Dayton, sent clouds of smoke into the air throughout the day Thursday, May 20, as seen from this aerial view. Staff photo by Chris Stewart

Staff photo by Chris Stewart A 50-foot pile of 3,000 scrap autos on fire at Franklin Iron & Metal, 2015 E. First St. in Dayton, sent clouds of smoke into the air throughout the day Thursday, May 20, as seen from this aerial view. Staff photo by Chris Stewart

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From left, Darrell Spitler and Jacki Johnson and their children Logan, 7, and Shyanna, 8, of 129 N. Garfield St. watch the clouds of smoke from their front yard. Staff photo by Jan Underwood

Staff photo by Jan Underwood From left, Darrell Spitler and Jacki Johnson and their children Logan, 7, and Shyanna, 8, of 129 N. Garfield St. watch the clouds of smoke from their front yard. Staff photo by Jan Underwood

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By Tom Beyerlein, Kelli Wynn, Anthony Gottschlich, Joanne Huist Smith and Steve Bennish, Staff Writers Updated 8:10 AM Friday, May 21, 2010

DAYTON — Smoke that rose from a fire in a 50-foot pile of 3,000 junk cars and appliances in a scrapyard near downtown caused much concern but apparently little injury on Thursday, May 20.

Dayton officials advised people within two miles of the fire at Franklin Iron & Metal Co., 2015 E. First St., to stay indoors for much of the day. The advisory was lifted around 4:30 p.m. after officials said air quality monitoring showed no detectable levels of pollutants in the area. Air quality will be tested for at least a month.

Dayton Fire Department officials expected to be on the scene throughout the night. The fire was mostly out by late Thursday. The cause was not known, but arson investigators were called.

Children’s Medical Center did not treat anyone for fire-related illness, a spokeswoman said, and Miami Valley Hospital treated fewer than five people for minor respiratory complaints by late afternoon.

Local health officials urged people to stay out of the smoke plume and seek medical attention if they felt ill. “If you’ve breathed it and you feel OK, there’s no need to run to the doctor or the emergency room,” said Brian Huxtable, spokesman for the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency, or RAPCA.

He said people with respiratory conditions such as asthma and emphysema are particularly vulnerable to toxins in smoke.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent contractors to monitor air quality because of concerns that the smoke may contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, linked to health effects. Results of the sampling weren’t released Thursday.

“They basically have a big pile of junk, but what’s in that big pile of junk, they don’t know,” said Frank Clay, chairman of the Fire Science Technology department at Sinclair Community College. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say because there hasn’t been any mandatory evacuations, the concentrations they’re getting from air samples aren’t cause for alarm.”

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