August 10, 2005
By Nancy Levant
By Oralandar Brand-Williams, George Hunter and Francis X. Donnelly / The Detroit News (Brandy Baker / The Detroit News)
Evacuated Romulus resident Dorothy Arrington sits in the cafeteria at Romulus High School.
ROMULUS -- Hundreds of residents from Romulus and Wayne hoped to return home today after a massive overnight fire at a nearby chemical plant.
The residents spent the night at two high schools and a church hall as authorities waited for the blaze at E.Q. Resource Recovery Inc. to burn itself out.
Michael Woods, 55, of Wayne spent the night with about 30 other evacuees in the lunchroom of Romulus High School, worrying about his wife, who refused to leave their home when officials told them to evacuate.
"I'm going home in a couple hours to check on my wife and my house," Woods said.
The cause of the blaze wasn't immediately known.
Photo: Romulus Deputy City Clerk Eva Webb, left, tucks in Jaynee Middlebrook, 6, who settles into a Brats sleeping bag on top of a lunchroom table. Middlebrook and her mom, Kisha Stewart, were evacuated from their Romulus home.
Joe Bova, 53, also spent the night at Romulus High School, but by early morning he was getting nervous because he had left his medication at his home in Wayne.
"I'm a diabetic, and I need my insulin," he said. "I hope the cops will let us back (into our homes.)"
Workers in the plant, which treats hazardous and industrial waste, fled from it just before it burst into flames about 9:15 p.m., said Charles Kirby, director of Romulus Public Safety.
By 3 a.m., 16 people had been treated for minor respiratory problems at Oakwood Annapolis Hospital in Wayne, said hospital spokeswoman Amy Middleton.
The hospital also provided a decontamination unit for anyone who needed to clean the smoke off of them.
The residents, who had difficulty breathing, were expected to be treated and released.
"I think I'm OK," said one patient, Judy Brennan, 58, of Wayne. "I don't think I was exposed too much; I was only outside for a short while."
The plant, with its tall metal tanks ablaze, resembled a birthday cake whose candles flared violently. A series of explosions rocked nearby homes and businesses as the fire spread from one tank to another.
As the flames reached high into the nighttime sky, public safety officials were more concerned about the heavy billowing smoke that changed direction several times in the tossing winds.
Worried that the black smoke might be toxic, authorities evacuated people from homes and businesses within a half mile of the plant. Among the firms were several auto plants, including GM Powertrain and Ford's Wayne Stamping and Assembly.
Among the residents evacuated was Angela Bradley, 24, of Wayne.
"The explosion shook the whole house," she said. "I thought the air conditioner blew up."
Bradley and her 8-year-old son, Tyler, went to Wayne Memorial High School, but had to leave someone behind.
"I'm really worried about my dog," she said. "Who knows what the chemicals will do to him."
More than 100 firefighters gathered to fight the blaze but were kept away by the wind-tossed smoke. So they decided to allow the fire to burn itself out.
"We've got a fire that's contained, and the fire chief thinks the best thing to do is let it burn," he said, adding he believed that was the safest thing to do.
By 2 a.m., the tanks, which contained acetone among other things, had melted half way down, Kirby said.
He thought the fire should run its course by 9 or 10 a.m.
"This is a serious danger to your health," Kirby said.
The plant hasn't had any recent problems, said Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert.
Nine workers were at the plant at the time, employees said.
Worker Carl Arasi Jr. told his father that the first explosion at the plant was the loudest noise he had ever heard, the elder Arasi said.
"He said, 'We were told over the loudspeaker, "Get out. It's going to blow.".'."
Carl Sr. was driving to the plant to pick up his son because the younger Arasi was too shaken to get home by himself.
Wayne resident Robert Eller, 50, who lives behind the plant, said he was watching television when he heard the explosion.
"I opened my door, and I could see nothing but red," he said. "I thought it was a nuclear attack."
The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross helped assist residents who went to the shelters. A Sally food truck brought hot dogs, s'mores, coffee and lemonade.
Olivia Ross, 45, a Romulus resident who lives near the plant, also was evacuated from her home.
"They came with bullhorns, told us we had to go," said Ross, who works on the midnight shift for GM Powertrain.
After the explosion, plant workers called relatives from their cell phones.
Amy Douglas, 29, of Detroit and others waited for the workers in a party store parking lot at Ecorse and Wayne roads.
Her husband, Leaveil, a plant lab technician, told her father he was working in the lab just before the explosion.
"My father could tell in his voice that he was scared," she said. "He was shaken up. All he said was that the plant blew up."
The Associated Press and Detroit News Staff Writer Douglass Dowty contributed to this report. You can reach Francis X.Donnelly at (313) 222-2300 or fdonnelly@detnews.com.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0508/10/A01-276524.htm
