FEBRUARY 17, 2015
SPRINGBORO, OHIO
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials say chemicals
that burned in his Springboro home were improperly labeled or not labeled at
all.
The fire burned a home on Jacamar Court on Feb. 4. The owner
escaped without injury.
Investigators said the owner, Victor Dubel, was hoarding
chemicals when the fire started. A hazardous materials team was called to limit
the effect of the spilled chemicals.
EPA officials said they were not sure of the amount of
chemicals that leaked during the fire. A swimming pool in the back yard of the
home was partially filled with contaminated water runoff.
Workers have fenced off the home as they continue to remove
the hazardous chemicals. They said there was a strong chemical odor in the air
around the site.
The EPA will meet with residents on the street Tuesday night
to discuss the cleanup efforts. Dubel and his insurance company said they could
not pay for the removal of the chemicals.
Officials estimate the total site cleanup to cost $125,000.
They still have not been able to identify all of the spill chemicals.
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EPA begins removal, sampling of chemicals found in house fire
House in Springboro had dentistry chemicals stored in basement
SPRINGBORO, OHIO —
UPDATE @ 11 p.m. Feb. 17:
The US EPA has begun removal of a house that contained
chemicals and caught fire earlier this month.
Authorities say the structure at 25 Jacamar Court in
Springboro will be removed during a three week process that started today with
removal of the garage. The process includes sampling to confirm any type of
contamination from the chemicals that were found in the basement of the house
that burned on Feb. 4.
Officials say the homeowner owner had the chemicals because
he was a dentist who was working on some home chemistry. But almost two weeks
after the blaze many of the chemicals remain unidentified due to the damage the
containers sustained according to officials.
The homeowner has provided investigators a partial list of
what he remembers to be inside the home.
Investigators say the main concern with the removal of the
hazardous materials is not groundwater contamination, but rather the safe
removal of shock sensitive materials. Officials say the chemicals that have
been exposed to a fire become more sensitive, which led to another fire on Feb.
9 when investigators moved a chemical bottle with machinery.
Most of the runoff from the firefight ran into a pool into
the backyard and will be removed, but the EPA plans water sampling of a nearby
creek to see if any toxins entered that water supply. Soil will also be tested
under the house and possibly removed if contamination is found.
The EPA has initiated an emergency removal action after
insurance declined to fund the removal of the property and the homeowner saying
he could not independently fund the removal himself. The final cost of the
removal will be based on what is found inside the debris.
The cause of the blaze still remains unknown. Officials say
it’s unknown if the homeowner will face charges or fines for the storage of the
chemicals.
Investigators have been in contact with neighbors and have
even offered hotel rooms paid by the City of Springboro during the cleanup
process.
The site will be monitored around the clock for both air
pollution and site security. A security guard will be present when the cleanup
crew is not present.
UPDATE @ 3:53 p.m. Feb. 13:
Authorities said today they would be meeting with residents
living near a Springboro house where chemicals were discovered after a fire.
The US EPA is leading the cleanup at 25 Jacamar Court in
Springboro.
AN EPA official said they were monitoring air samples, but
had found no hazards for neighbors.
A meeting with residents is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at
Springboro City Hall.
The chemicals were discovered several days after the Feb. 4
fire by insurance company investigators.
The owner identified some chemicals as dental and dental lab
chemicals, but authorities said they were considering them as unknown, pending
testing.
FIRST REPORT, Feb. 12:
Chemicals found in the basement of a house that caught fire
earlier this month are the subject of a multi-agency cleanup effort.
The chemicals, typically used in dentistry and dental
laboratory settings, were found in the debris of the fire reported around 10:45
a.m. Feb. 4 at 25 Jacamar Court.
“These chemicals were impacted by the fire, and therefore
require specialized resources to property and safely remove them from the
site,” according to a news release issued Thursday by the Clearcreek Fire
District.
“Environmental assessments conducted thus far show no hazard
to the neighborhood and no evidence of chemicals in the air,” the release
stated.
Property records indicate the home is owned by Victor J.
Dubel. A dentist by that name, with an office in Dayton, declined to comment
Thursday.
Fencing surrounds the property, and a “united command” of
local, county, state and federal agencies has been working to remove the
chemicals, according to the release.
The Springboro Police Department confirmed it is not
involved in the case.
Fire officials did not respond to calls for additional
information. It is not clear who is paying for the cleanup.
A press conference is scheduled for Friday afternoon at
Springboro City Hall.