MARCH 2, 2015
CLEARCREEK TOWNSHIP, OHIO
Work to clean up the site of a
chemical fire in Clearcreek Township continues, and the cost is rising.
The fire at the Jacamar Court home on Feb. 4 damaged or
destroyed dozens of containers of various chemicals.
The Environmental Protection Agency was called in to help
with cleanup due to the chemicals involved, including anisole, ethyl
4-(dimethylamino) benzoate, benzopinacol, ethylenediamine, oxygen, mercury and
acetylene.
Not all the containers have labels, the EPA said previously.
In a report released Monday, the EPA said even more chemical
containers have been found on the property. More than 600 have been removed so
far, the EPA said.
The estimated cleanup cost has nearly doubled from an
original $125,000 estimate to $240,000, authorities said.
The costs are being borne by taxpayers after it was
determined that the homeowner, Victor Dubel, could not pay for it, and his
home's insurance company would not cover it.
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SPRINGBORO, OHIO
Four agencies were at a dentist’s home in
Springboro Friday, trying to figure out why he had dozens of containers of
unknown chemicals inside his house.
The house on Jacamar Court burned down more than a week ago.
Crews haven't been able to get in to investigate because of
dozens of containers of unknown chemicals the homeowner had inside.
Investigators from Springboro, Warren County, Ohio and the Environmental
Protection Agency are on scene, trying to determine what the chemicals were.
According to the County Auditor, the homeowner is Victor
Dubel, a dentist with an office in Dayton.
Neighbors said Dubel kept to himself and described him as a recluse.
"I knew he was a dentist, and he had probably been
doing some research work, but that's probably all I know," neighbor Vince
Festa said.
Investigators said Dubel was also a hoarder, which forced
firefighters to let the house burn.
"They discovered the person had excessive storage
within his home, and it made it complicated. They weren't able to access many
rooms to conduct fire operations," Clearcreek Township Fire Chief Bob Kidd
said.
Officials said Dubel had about 50 containers of chemicals
stored inside the home, among the items.
"What we're seeing right now is numerous containers,
varying from quart jars to half gallon jars, of unknown chemicals," EPA On
Scene Coordinator Steve Renninger said.
Renninger said chemicals spilled into the back yard pool,
contaminating the water, and some of the run off went over an embankment and
into a creek behind the home.
The EPA took the lead to remove the contaminated material.
"We have site contingency plans in place with response
agencies, and air monitoring has been taking place. There is no impact to
neighbors at this point from air issues. We'll continue to monitor that
over the next couple of days," Renninger said.
Friday night, the property remained secured and will remain
so for several weeks until the cleanup is complete.
Investigators said Dubel told them the chemicals were
typically used in a dental lab, but they haven't been able to confirm that.
Dubel did not return calls for comment Friday.
Investigators said they don't know what caused the
fire. No one was injured. They plan on updating neighbors of their
findings at a meeting Tuesday night.