Officials: Local departments not equipped to handle Pinova fire

Apr. 26—The Pinova wood resin plant in Brunswick no longer employs an onsite firefighting team, forcing it on April 15 to rely on its fire suppression system until the Brunswick Fire Department arrived when a fire ignited.

But fire officials said Monday at a town hall meeting organized by District 5 Glynn County Commissioner Allen Booker that the city fire department is not equipped to fight a fire of that magnitude without plenty of help. When city firefighters did arrive to battle the blaze, it was already raging to the point that the short-staffed department would eventually require the aid of eight other fire departments, including from Savannah and Jacksonville, to extinguish the fire.

Unlike previously in its 110-year history, the Pinova plant, which was formerly operated by Hercules, relies on the local fire department for its fire protection, Pinova officials told a group of about 100 people on Tuesday at Howard Coffin Park. As technology has advanced and ownership of the plant has changed hands, the firefighting team dissolved.

It was the first time The News and the public had heard from company officials since the massive fire sparked 10 days prior, prompting shelter-in-place orders, an evacuation of the area around the plant and an airdrop of firefighting foam to finally put out the blaze. Booker was joined by District 2 County Commissioner Cap Fendig and Brunswick City Commissioner Felicia Harris. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and state Environmental Protection Division were also on hand to answer questions and provide information.

Company officials said there is a lot to learn after the only fire of such magnitude in their memory at the plant.

"We will learn from this event and we will do better moving forward," said Mark Johnson, an attorney with Gilbert Harrel who represents Pinova.

The full extent of the lesson is still to be determined. The plant remains closed while Johnson said the company is working with state investigators and has hired its own team to figure out what caused the fire and what can be done in the future to prevent another one. That investigation, however, may take a while, Johnson said. He asked for patience.

"We want to do this right," he said. "At the appropriate time, we will have more answers."

Johnson reassured the crowd that Pinova cares about their safety.

"There is nothing more important to Pinova than the safety of the neighborhood, the safety of the employees, and the safety of this community," he said.

He and plant manager James Manning told the crowd the plant will remain closed until all systems, machinery and processes can be thoroughly inspected to ensure they are safe to operate again. He did not provide a timeline for its reopening.

The fire burned a substance called alpha-pinene and only affected polyterpene unit of the 152-acre facility, he said.

"The plant is not going to reopen until we are 100% sure it can be done safely," Johnson added.

Among the safety measures at the plant is the fire suppression system that was activated when the fire first started spreading around dawn on April 15. At that time, Brunswick firefighters were able to put down the flames relatively quickly, said Brunswick Fire Chief Tim White. Pinova is an automatic aid zone, so the Glynn County Fire Department responded as well.

Manning said the fire started just after shift change at the plant. A few minutes into the day shift, workers heard a noise, went to check it out and saw a fire, then heard another bang.

"They immediately fled, which is what we teach them to do," Manning said, noting that the protocol is to flee for safety and call the city fire department because the plant no longer keeps its own firefighting crew on site.

"We call the fire department and they take control," Manning said.

Not Equipped

The fire department remained on scene for hours and only left to reload, White said. That is when the fire sparked again around 2 p.m., sending a massive plume of black smoke into the air and prompting calls by the local fire departments for aid from other area departments.

The Brunswick Fire Department currently has a staff of 42 firefighters, which is up from 27 not long ago, White said. The city recently authorized it to increase staffing to 52 and the department is working to reach that number, he said.

Even with help from the Glynn County and Jekyll Island departments, an industrial fire of this nature requires much more manpower and equipment, White said.

"We are not capable of fighting this type of fire once it gets going like it was going," White said.

The Brunswick Fire Department does use a firefighting foam to fight industrial fires, but had used much of its supply in the morning fire, White said. Glynn County brought its foam and its powder truck, but even that wasn't enough, he said. That is why the more than 40 personnel from the Jacksonville Fire Department and others who responded were so important to fighting the fire, White said.

"We do not have the capabilities of putting out a thick layer of foam," White said. "We do have equipment coming, but even with what we have coming, we will need a lot of help."

White also said that as the fire department nears full staffing, he has been able to add two fire inspectors to bring the total up to three.

"We are going to concentrate on industries more," White said. "With Symrise and with this one, we know now the hazards involved."

Fendig and Harris both told Pinova officials that the company needs to increase its ability to fight fires at the plant to protect the residents of the Golden Isles.

"If we hadn't gotten Jacksonville and Savannah here, who knows what would have happened," Fendig said.

Better Communication

The potential hazards from the smoke and the air around the plant as it burned were on the minds of city residents who spoke and asked questions on Tuesday, some of whom live immediately adjacent to the borders of the Pinova property. They said better communication from the company and from city and county governments is needed so people have clear direction on how to stay safe.

Betty McKenzie lives in the neighborhood around the plant and said she didn't get the first alert from officials about the fire until 4 p.m., about two hours after it was fully involved.

"We need some kind of system so we can know earlier when something like this happens," she said. "We don't know what was in that air."

That was a common refrain from residents, some of whom said they have had respiratory issues over the past 10 days as a result of the fire.

Frankie Miller said she was at work when the afternoon fire broke out and was notified by a family member who called her about it.

"I received no communication. I didn't know what to do," she said. "I was horrified that my neighborhood was on fire. ... I didn't know what to do."

She said neighborhood residents should have been notified more quickly about the dangers posed by the fire and with instructions on what they should do to protect themselves.

Company officials agreed about the communications.

"Clearly, communication needs to be better," Johnson said.

He said a response line and email have been set up to hear from residents and people impacted by the fire. The number is 877-381-0337 and the email is pinovaresponseline@jndla.com.

Public officials also agreed that communication needs to be better. Andrew Leanza, Glynn County's Emergency Management Agency director said the county is in the process of setting up an alert call system similar to what is used for things like Amber alerts. That system is not operational on a local level yet but will be in the future. For this fire, he said they were able to use the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's system and its own Code Red system, which is an opt-in system.

In those communications, residents want to be informed sooner on what is burning and what the hazards in the air may be.

Air Monitoring

Ben Franco of the Environmental Protection Agency said air monitor readings conducted in and around the plant by firefighters at the scene showed that volatile organic compounds in the air were not at dangerous levels as the fire burned.

He arrived on the scene from Atlanta when the fire was mostly out and began taking readings at Selden Park, College of Coastal Georgia and the Brunswick Police Department, places where the equipment could be safely deployed. Those readings taken around midnight and through the early morning hours of April 16 showed zero levels of harmful compounds in the air.

The monitors measure the level of volatile organic compounds in the air. If they rise to a certain level, the air is considered dangerous, Franco said. Monitoring showed no harmful levels even during checks around the neighborhoods adjacent to the plant the following day, he said.

What burned

The alpha-pinene that was burning is a byproduct of the wood pulping process. It is a substance that comes from wood that is highly flammable and has a low flashpoint of just 91 degrees, according to the National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Manning said it is a hydrocarbon wood product, and although it is highly flammable, it is still essentially like a wood fire when it burns. He also said chemicals used in their industrial processes did not burn during the fire.

Alpha-pinene is harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, according to the CAMEO Chemicals database maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but there is no information on datasheets about harmful qualities from the smoke if it burns.

Although it is listed as harmful, in small amounts alpha-pinene is used as a flavoring agent in some manufactured foods and also as a fragrance additive for air fresheners, cleaners, colognes and perfumes and insect repellents, among other things, the Library of Medicine data shows.

Safer future

Manning, who has worked at the plant for 36 years, and who grew up in Brunswick, said it is his goal as plant manager, a job he has had for about 18 months, to make Pinova a crown jewel of industry in the Golden Isles. He said he will do whatever he can to ensure a fire of this magnitude doesn't happen again.

"I certainly want us to be the best neighbor we can be," he said.

Fendig and Harris implored company officials to do more to get to know their neighbors and to be part of the community to better understand the concerns of people who live near the plant. They also said the plant needs to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the community.

Pinova produces a terpene resin from pine stumps that are used in numerous applications, including fragrances and food products like chewing gum, sports drinks and makeup. It also is used in tapes and road-paving materials, according to the company's website.

Pinova is owned by DRT America, a U.S. subsidiary of French-based DRT. DRT is owned by Fermenich International SA, a Switzerland-based company that specializes in fragrances and flavors.