SEATTLE, Wash. — Cleanup after a massive fire at a Fremont plant containing hazardous materials will take days at the site, and perhaps weeks in the area around it, officials said Tuesday.
The fire, which started at about 12:50 p.m. at the Asko Processing plant on North 35th Street, caused a huge black smoke plume across Seattle.
Ten hours later, KIRO 7 crews saw firefighters hosing down the building from above, trying to contain hot spots. Charred, broken parts and sludgy water could be seen through the open warehouse door.
The building, a metal finishing shop that works with military aircraft and aerospace parts, had 20 employees inside. They all got out safely.
A worker at the scene told KIRO 7 there was an electrical fire in a machine used to make “sure finish metals,” and that the oil “probably caught fire and spread.”
Asko Processing has been permitted for highly toxic liquids and solids, corrosive liquids and solids and flammable liquids, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
Fire inspectors last inspected the building on Sept. 2 and found no violations.
Heavy smoke and flames came from the building and people southeast of the fire reported ash raining down from the blaze.
“We have ash that was coming from the sky. Big chunks of it, yeah,” said Linda Olson, who lives near the factory. Olson displayed her bare arms covered with ash from the fire.
Seattle Public Utilities worked with other crews to bring in huge tanker trucks and drain the mix of chemicals and water from the storm water drains and streets.
“The worst-case scenario is there's an immediate effect on wildlife for fish and aquatic species,” Eric Autry, senior environmental compliance inspector for Seattle Public Utilities, said.
Autry said cleanup crews will work for days, testing the water at drains at the site, throughout the system, and at the Ship Canal for contamination.
“It gets diluted fairly quick,” he said, adding that tests of the water had come back fairly clean. “But that doesn't mean there's not contamination on the bottom,” he added.
Fremont Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessica Vets hopes Asko will rebuild and stay in Fremont.
“It's very important for Fremont to keep Asko. It's an integral part of our neighborhood,” she said.
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