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Chemicals From Bridgeport Warehouse Fire Pollute Long Island Sound

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Runoff from a massive fire at a Bridgeport warehouse that burned from late Thursday into Friday morning is draining into the waters of Long Island Sound and residents are warned to stay on shore in the area, officials said. 

A five-alarm fire with explosions destroyed the warehouse buildings at 2059-2149 Seaview Ave. in Bridgeport.

A five-alarm fire with explosions destroyed the warehouse buildings at 2059-2149 Seaview Ave. in Bridgeport.

Photo Credit: Mayor Bill Finch's Facebook page

The five-alarm fire, which began at about 6:45 p.m. Thursday at 2059-2149 Seaview Ave., raged all night, said Chief Brian Rooney, and included "tremendous explosions." Power was shut down in the area and about 1,400 people were evacuated. 

The warehouse was home to Rowayton Trading Co., a Norwalk-based company that makes chemical compounds used to make fragrances, fire officials said. The perfumes are for commercial use in products such as laundry detergents.

A total of 1,000 55-gallon drums of the product were stored in the warehouse, and the contents of those drums is in the runoff from the firefighting efforts, Rooney said. 

As a result of the runoff, a foamy substance with a red or purple tint was observed in the waters of the Yellow Mill Channel, the Pequonnock River and the harbor as well as into Long Island Sound. 

Shellfishing is banned from Fairfield up to the Housatonic RIver. All fishing is also banned in Bridgeport, including in the harbor area and at Pleasure Beach. As a precaution, Pleasure Beach is closed to residents for all uses. Swimming in the area is banned. 

The Coast Guard and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection say the public is safe, but monitoring is underway to determine the scope of the pollution and the precise chemicals involved. 

The warehouse, which also contained a roofing company, sustained structural wall damage and roof collapses. 

The DEEP is monitoring air quality and detected no risk to public health, said David Pointon of the DEEP. But he said the smoke could be irritating to people with respiratory conditions. 

"We have done several samples of the water and several field tests," Pointon said. "We have found what I would call minute levels of materials from the warehouse. That's a good thing for us. The color of the river is more of a concern. We are sampling that today."

The cause of the fire remains undetermined. 

"This fire was extremely challenging to fight as well as the exposure to other buildings," a fire official said. "The guys did a great job -- we had to battle a lot of heat and high humidity."

One firefighter suffered heat exposure, and another sustained a minor ankle injury, he said. No other injuries were reported. 

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