North Franklinton residents evacuated, exit ramps closed after hazmat situation

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – Columbus police evacuated a one-mile area and highway exit ramps are shut down near the Scioto River, west of Downtown Columbus.

According to Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter a hazmat team was called to investigate a situation in which a trailer attached to a semi-truck was smoking Thursday morning. At around 5:20 a.m. crews were called to the 1600 block of McKinley Road in North Franklinton, near Grandview Avenue, where a semi-truck trailer with hazmat placards on the side was seen with smoke exiting the vehicle.

Geitter said it is considered a hazmat situation because the truck contains hazardous materials, 5,900 pounds of lithium-ion batteries. A large police and fire department presence is at the scene, where thick black smoke is billowing out of the container.

Just after 9 a.m., crews opened the back of the trailer, attempting to put out the blaze, which Geitter said was fairly large.

Geitter said that when those batteries are “off-gassing” they can rapidly accelerate in fire growth, to the point of a possible explosion. That threat is no longer active since the container has been opened. He said the biggest threat is no longer a concern and it eventually came down to putting out the fire, which was isolated to the trailer.

Prior to opening the trailer Geitter said the size of the fire was unknown because it was in a sealed container, but crews could see pressure and some smoke was coming from it.

“The evacuations are precautionary, this scenario can be unpredictable and we want to make sure everyone is safe,” he said.

Geitter added that they were methodically determining the best way to put out the fire inside the trailer and that it takes an “overwhelming amount of water” to extinguish lithium-ion battery fires. A smaller amount of water may accelerate the blaze, he said, however, there is no danger concerning air quality. Authorities are deploying a monitoring device for toxins in the air as a precaution.

The incident appears to be around the train tracks next to McKinley Avenue, which was closed in both directions as of 6 a.m. Authorities evacuated residents within a one-mile radius around the incident as well as people in the COTA maintenance facility on McKinley Avenue.

Also closed are the following exit ramps:

• Grandview Avenue from I-670 West
• Grandview Avenue from I-670 East
• U.S.-40/Broad Street From I-70 East
• U.S.-40/broad Street From I-70 West

Columbus police officers went door-to-door to notify residents, who could go to the Dodge Park Community Center for shelter. The Central and Southern Ohio Red Cross has also set up an area in Dodge Park where residents can meet with nurses from Columbus Public Health and ask medical questions. The evacuation was lifted at around 10 a.m.

The Ohio Environment Protection Agency sent NBC4 the following statement:

“The incident, although stable, remains in the response phase and as a result, Ohio EPA Emergency Response (ER) staff have limited access to the contents at this time.  We continue to operate on the information provided in the initial report (IPIR). As the incident progresses and moves to the recovery and cleanup phases, we will have more information about the materials. While we would not anticipate long term issues, it is also premature to speculate.”

Authorities are still asking people to steer clear of Grandview Avenue and Harper Roads, along with the surrounding areas of Central Avenue, McKinley Avenue and Broad Street. In addition, Franklinton Prep High School announced its closure for the day.

The Columbus Division of Fire said the official clean up will start Friday. They will keep an engine on scene overnight to monitor.

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