Seven fire departments and the Tuscarawas County Hazmat Team were out Saturday after employees found a leak.
New Philadelphia Fire Captain Robert Snyder says they were dispatched at 12:38pm initially for a structure fire at 2118 Reiser Avenue at Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions.
“Initially we were dispatched for a fire alarm. Once we got on scene, we learned that it was an acid leaking in the back from one of their tanks, approximately 2,000-gallon tank. They had a good bit on the floor, and I don’t know an estimate, but it was all contained within the building and their containment system they have inside the building.”
Showing up in mutual aid was Dover, Mineral City, Strasburg, Sugarcreek, Uhrichsville, and York fire departments, Smith Ambulance, Tuscarawas County EMA and the local Hazmat Team.
“It was an acid, and it is corrosive so we couldn’t go in with our normal fire gear, and we had to wait until we had hazmat suits so we could enter. That takes a little bit of time because we have to set up different stations. We have to set up a station for the folks to come out and get their hazmat suit washed so they could safely get out of the suit, and we had to have extra folks ready to go in case something would happen to any of those folks.”
The Hazmat team slowed the leak. Company employees assisted in the cleanup.
Overall responders were on scene for almost 3 hours. Snyder adds there was no concern for air quality or the environment.
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2025