One month later: City of Richmond outlines cleanup plan following large industrial fire
RICHMOND, Ind. — Thursday marked one month since the start of a dayslong fire at the My Way Trading complex on NW F Street in Richmond. Thousands of residents living near the fire site were forced to evacuate but were able to start the process of returning to their homes just five days after the fire started.
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“We have learned a lot over the last month,” Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said in a City of Richmond release. "More importantly, we have witnessed the heroism of our first responders, the collaborative spirit of our county, state and federal partners and the resiliency and compassion of our community.”
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Along with Snow's comments, the release included an update on how the city plans to clean up the site. The city has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Indiana Department of Environmental Management in this process. Richmond issued a formal request to the EPA to conduct an environmental investigation and immediate removal action of the materials at or near the site. The city also executed a site access agreement, allowing mitigation to begin, and secured an environmental consultant to monitor the process.
The EPA is receiving assistance from the Richmond Fire, Police and Street Departments to move heavy equipment to the site to help in this investigation. This process includes "several" steps, but initial actions will include the following:
Identification of the materials/debris on the site (EPA will begin sampling May 15)
Development of a plan to safely remove and properly dispose of the materials/debris
Safe removal and disposal of the materials/debris
Follow-up environmental testing at the site
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“Although the full cleanup effort will take quite some time, we’re working diligently to get it moving," Snow said in the release. "The sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll get it finished. We’re going to keep pushing forward every day until we can put this behind us and look ahead.”
The City of Richmond and the EPA will continue to update their web pages as new information becomes available.
The Wayne Township Trustee’s office and the Red Cross continue to support residents impacted by the fire. Anyone needing assistance can call the Wayne County Help Line at (765) 973-9300.
Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: City of Richmond outlines cleanup plan following large industrial fire
