Tom Butt
 
  E-Mail Forum – 2018  
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  Will We Ever Learn from Industrial Fires and Explosions?
February 1, 2018
 

Here is what we know (based on information provided from various sources)  about the Sims Metal fire on Tuesday night:

  • The fire started about 5:00 PM
  • Sims called 911 at 5:08 PM. “A spokesperson for Richmond's Sims Metal Management says company workers called 911 at 5:08” (Richmond mayor upset with emergency alert process during Sims ... abc7news.com/richmond-mayor-upset-with-emergency-alert...fire/3014206/.  
  • The fire was well underway at 5:18 PM, and smoke was rising several hundred feet. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1076564749104499/permalink/1672951416132493/)
  • Richmond Fire Department did not alert Contra Costa County until 5:55 PM.
  • Contra Costa County Community Warning System sent out the first alert at 6:08 PM
  • I received my first alert via cell phone at 6:20 PM.
  • I received an “all clear” message on my cell phone at 3:53 AM on Wednesday.
  • When I came home from the City Council meeting, I passed by Sims Metal at 10:44 PM, and the fire was still burning. The wind had shifted, and the smoke was low lying and enveloping Point Richmond in a thick fog. It was difficult to breathe. This is the worst smoke I have endured since I moved to Richmond in 1973, far worse than the Chevron fire of 2012.

Here is what I am concerned about:

  • It was 47 minutes after the 911 call went out to Richmond Fire Department before they contacted the Contra Costa County Community Warning System. By then, the fire was fully engulfed, and black smoke was visible all over Richmond. People wanted to know what is going on.
  • It took the Contra Costa County Community Warning System another 25 minutes to issue an actual alert.
  • Many people never received any alert, and the emergency warning sirens were never used. There was no information provided about the actual source of the fire (just an address) or the toxicity of the smoke.

I really resent the whole concept of sheltering in place, unless it is a natural disaster. We should not have to live in a community so dangerous that we are routinely required to shelter in place. There is really not much difference between sheltering in place and forcible abduction, which can get you significant prison time. There should be severe penalties against any entity that causes a shelter in place warning.

The Community Warning System is now over twenty years old, and it has never worked properly. Failures have been due to human error (both accidental and intentional), software error, hardware error, contractor error and simply poor design and planning. We have to get this fixed, or there will be severe consequences someday.

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Richmond mayor upset with emergency alert process during Sims Metal fire
A spokesperson for Richmond's Sims Metal Management says company workers called 911 at 5:08 Tuesday afternoon when a fire started in a pile of metal debris at the company's South 4th Street, but an official shelter in place alert wasn't sent out to the larger community until nearly an hour later.
By Amy Hollyfield
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 07:05PM
RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) --
A spokesperson for Richmond's Sims Metal Management says company workers called 911 at 5:08 Tuesday afternoon when a fire started in a pile of metal debris at the company's South 4th Street, but an official shelter in place alert wasn't sent out to the larger community until nearly an hour later.

RELATED: Firefighters battle toxic smoke from Richmond scrap metal fire

"People did not know what was going on," said Andres Soto with the Richmond chapter of Communities for a Better Environment, "when you see a big black cloud like that it's quite a fantastic thing to see."

"I literally couldn't breathe," said Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, who complained he was choking on the smoke long before he received an emergency alert on his cell phone. "This whole warning system thing is an absolute total joke. It's been around now for about 25 years. It's never worked, not one time."

Richmond Fire Captain Rico Rincon says it's his department's responsibility to notify Contra Costa County when it's time to activate the emergency alert system.

"The way the system is designed, it initially notifies the most emergent neighborhoods," explained Rincon, "Or the most immediate people that we need to shelter in place as affected by the incident," Rincon said that warning didn't go out until about 6 p.m., nearly an hour into the fire.

RELATED: Shelter-in-place lifted for residents near scrap metal fire in Richmond

Rincon says these sirens were activated in some neighborhoods, but many people we talked with said they didn't hear them.

"How do people find out, how do seniors find out who is living in the area, if they don't have internet," asked Reverend Dale Weatherspoon, with the Easter Hill United Methodist Church.

A Sims spokesperson disputed Mayor Butt's assertion that the company hasn't been a good neighbor.

"Sims has been here since 1985, so I don't know where he's coming off that we're a bad neighbor," said Jill Rodby, a company spokesperson. "You have to think about what recycling does. Without our type of industry, I would hate to think what would happen to all the metal products."

Investigators look for cause of smoky Richmond scrap metal blaze

By Rick Hurd | rhurd@bayareanewsgroup.com and George Kelly | gkelly@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: January 31, 2018 at 2:39 pm | UPDATED: February 1, 2018 at 5:36 am

RICHMOND — Investigators on Wednesday were combing for the source of a scrapyard fire that prompted a shelter-in-place alert for Richmond neighborhoods that lasted 10 hours.

Nobody was injured in Tuesday night’s blaze at Sims Metal Management, Richmond Fire Capt. Rico Rincon said, and there were no reports of sickness from the smoke. But the two-alarm fire sent dark plumes into the air that were visible for miles.

“I came home from a City Council meeting about 10:30 p.m., and my neighborhood was enveloped in a thick fog of acrid smoke, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt said Wednesday. “I was afraid to breathe until I got inside my house. It was far worse than the Chevron fire of 2012.”

Authorities issued the shelter-in-place for the Nystrom Village neighborhood from 23rd Street to Harbor Way and from Wright Boulevard to Ohio Street, as well as for Santa Fe, Iron Triangle, Atchison Village and North Richmond neighborhoods.

Smoke is seen coming from the Sims Metal Management property in this view from Cutting Boulevard as a scrap metal fire burns Richmond, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Smoke was visible for miles and authorities warned residents to stay indoors. (Courtesy of Henna Papineau)

Smoke is seen coming from the Sims Metal Management property in this view from Cutting Boulevard as a scrap metal fire burns Richmond, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Smoke was visible for miles and authorities warned residents to stay indoors. (Courtesy of Henna Papineau) 

Fire crews were called to the blaze around 5:08 p.m. Tuesday after somebody from the Sims scrapyard, at 600 South Fourth St., called 911, Rincon said.

Firefighters arrived in four minutes to find a 20-foot pile of metal ablaze, he said.

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They worked through the night and finally extinguished the blaze around 4 a.m. The Richmond Fire Department issued an advisory on its Twitter page at 4:05 a.m. that the shelter-in-place had ended.

Bridge toll workers on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge were asked to shelter in place during the fire.

The California Highway Patrol also contemplated closing westbound Interstate 580 at the bridge but decided against it.

Sheriffs Office Says Community Warning System Functioned Properly During Richmond Fire

By ECT
Jan 31, 2018

The Contra Costa County Sheriffs office say the Community Warning System worked as it was supposed to yesterday during a shelter in place in the City of Richmond.

The system came into question after Richmond Mayor was quoted by ABC7 saying:

“I literally couldn’t breathe,” said Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, who complained he was choking on the smoke long before he received an emergency alert on his cell phone. “This whole warning system thing is an absolute total joke. It’s been around now for about 25 years. It’s never worked, not one time.”


The sheriffs office provided a timeline of the alerts that went out. Residents can sign up by clicking here.

Here is a copy of the Statement released by the Sheriffs office:
The mission of the Community Warning System (CWS) is to ensure the public gets emergency alerts as quickly and completely as possible once we receive the proper information from the requesting agency. CWS is not an internal notification system for a city or affected jurisdictions.

In regards to yesterday’s fire at a metal shop in Richmond, CWS received all of the necessary information from Richmond Fire for an alert at 5:55 PM. There was no request to activate the sirens. The first alert was sent at 6:08 PM through the Telephone Emergency Notification System (TENS), which includes phone, text, and email alerts. It is also posted on social media and websites.


As the fire continued to burn and produce smoke, and due to a shift in winds, the shelter-in-place needed to be expanded. CWS worked to get updates to additional shelter-in-place areas as they were requested by Richmond Fire and Contra
Costa Hazardous Materials Program.


The second alert went out at 6:44 PM, the third alert went out at 7:57 PM, and the last one went out at 8:50 PM. These alerts went to expanded areas at the request of Richmond Fire and the Contra Costa Hazardous Materials Program.


After the situation became somewhat stabilized and it was believed no additional shelter-in-place areas would be needed,
a comprehensive map was created that included all affected areas and was posted in on our website and Facebook page and sent directly to the media.


“In yesterday’s incident, the CWS worked as designed — alerts were sent once all the information was received from the requesting agency,” said Assistant Sheriff Mark Williams. “Mayor Butt’s statement that it took an hour to get out the first alert after receiving the necessary information from Richmond Fire is totally inaccurate, misleading, and presumptuous.”


CWS continually reviews it system and procedures in an effort to improve delivery of alerts. CWS encourages all county residents to receive alerts by registering at www.cococws.us and to follow CWS on Twitter and Facebook at CoCoCWS.


Smoke From Scrap Metal Yard Fire in Richmond May Have Violated Local Air Standards


https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/DU5FoRMVMAADkPp-800x1067.jpg

A plume of smoke rises from Sims Metal Management in Richmond. (Bay Area Air Quality Management District)
By Ted Goldberg January 31, 2018

Air samples from smoke that wafted through Richmond Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from a large fire at a scrap metal yard included high levels of toxic particulate matter that were too dangerous to breathe, according to a top local air official.

“For a shortened period of time there were some levels of smoke from this fire that were similar to the North Bay fires,” said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who sits on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board.

The agency says it sent four inspectors to the scene of the fire at Sims Metal Management plant on South Fourth Street near the Port of Richmond. The blaze led to a series of shelter-in-place orders affecting thousands of city residents.

The fire began in a light-iron recycling pile at the facility, according to Jill Rodby, a spokeswoman for Sims, which runs another center in Redwood City that went up in flames several years ago.

The blaze spread, prompting a two-alarm response from the Richmond Fire Department. Crews from the Chevron refinery in Richmond, the Shell refinery in Martinez and the Dow Chemical plant in Pittsburg brought in foam to help extinguish the blaze, according to Richmond Fire Capt. Rico Rincon.

The fire started around 5 p.m. Tuesday and was under control by around 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Air district officials are trying to determine what was burning during those 11 hours. Metal, plastic and fuel at the plant most likely ignited in the fire, according to Gioia.

“I’m sure there will be an investigation that will lead to violation notices,” Gioia said in an interview Wednesday morning.

The cause of the blaze is also under investigation. Richmond fire officials are spending the day interviewing workers and combing through burned debris, according to the city’s fire chief, Adrian Sheppard.

Several Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CWS) alerts were issued in the hours after the fire began, urging residents to stay indoors.

Over an hour after the blaze started, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt received a county alert on his phone. Butt, a critic of the county’s warning system, said that amount of time was too long.

“It’s a joke. It’s never worked. It did not work yesterday. I’m just very unhappy about this whole thing,” Butt said, also in an interview.

When Butt returned to his home later in the evening, it was hard to breathe.

“The whole area of southwest Richmond, including Point Richmond, was just in a toxic fog. There was limited visibility. It was so thick,” Butt said.

“The air was so bad, where I live, you literally couldn’t take a breath. It was the worst I’ve ever seen. It was worse than the Chevron fire of 2012,” Butt said.

During the major fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond more than five years ago, thousands of residents went to local hospitals complaining of breathing problems.

This time around there were no reports of similar health complaints, and there were no injuries to workers, said Rodby, the Sims spokeswoman.

But the wind patterns changed — sending the smoke into different residential neighborhoods. Smoke initially shot up into the air, creating a plume that trailed off in an eastward direction, according to Butt. The wind then shifted and stayed low to the ground.

Those changes led Richmond fire and county officials to expand their shelter-in-place orders.

The initial alert went out at 6:10 p.m., advising people on Wright Avenue to Ohio Avenue in the Nystrom Village area of the city to go inside and stay indoors.

Thirty-five minutes later the alert was extended to include the Santa Fe, Iron Triangle, Atchison Village and North Richmond neighborhoods.

At around 8 p.m. the order was extended to Point Richmond.

Less than an hour after that, the order was expanded yet again to an area between Garrard Boulevard, Ohio Avenue and W. Cutting Boulevard.

The computer-generated audio recordings that explained the new orders were difficult to interpret at times.

“I found some of the alerts to be hard to understand. I don’t think they were necessarily clear,” Gioia said.

The orders stayed in place until just before 4 a.m. Wednesday, when an all-clear was issued.

As the smoke spread through the city and the shelter-in-place orders expanded, residents expressed criticism and confusion on social media forums like Nextdoor.

“The fire started around 6, some are just now getting alerts, that’s way too long a delay,” posted Kent Langston at 7:42 p.m.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the alert system, released a statement late Wednesday, defending the program’s work and disputed claims it was slow to act.

“The CWS worked as designed,” said Assistant Sheriff Mark Williams.

“Mayor Butt’s statement that it took an hour to get out the first alert after receiving the necessary information from Richmond Fire is totally inaccurate, misleading, and presumptuous,” said Acting Sheriff Mark Williams.

The sheriff’s department statement said to get out developing information, it used phone, text and email alerts, posted on social media and websites and developed a comprehensive map that included the affected areas.

But, it noted that the fire department did not request to use the warning system’s sirens.

The county’s hazardous materials program helped determine where the shelter-in-place orders should be expanded, according to the agency’s chief environmental health and hazardous materials officer, Randy Sawyer.

“When they started putting the fire out, it cooled down, so the smoke stayed closer to the ground and it moved around. So we added different areas for the shelter-in-place as the evening went on,” Sawyer said.

Meantime, Sims says it will investigate the cause of the fire and look to make improvements to reduce the risk of blazes at the facility in the future.

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused to the community by this incident and will continue to be committed to being a good corporate neighbor,” a statement released Wednesday afternoon by the company reads.

This post was updated to include portions of statements from the Contra Costa County’s sheriff’s department and Sims Metal Management. 

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Industrial fire in Richmond, CA. Shelter in place.

       

 

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2018
CONTACT: Tom Flannigan, 415.749.4900

Air District investigates fire at Sims scrap metal facility in Richmond

SAN FRANCISCO – The Bay Area Air Quality Management District responded to a fire last night at the Sims Metal Management facility in Richmond. Four Air District inspectors were sent to the scene to provide support to first responders.

Air District staff remain on the scene and have opened an investigation into the incident. Inspectors measured high levels of particulate matter from the burning metals and plastics. They provided meteorology information, public complaint records and air quality observations to first responders on the scene.

Heavy smoke from the fire was localized and impacted neighborhoods near the incident. Low winds during the incident allowed smoke from the fire to settle into the surrounding neighborhoods.

Inspectors will continue to conduct air quality tests and investigate potential air quality violations.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area. Connect with the Air District via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

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Air District Communications Office
375 Beale Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105
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