ST. LOUIS – A warehouse on the 6500 block of Hall Street in the city’s North Riverfront neighborhood was the scene of a large response from the St. Louis Fire Department Wednesday afternoon.
A small fire appeared to be the result of a chemical reaction, according to Capt. David Neighbors, St. Louis Fire Department spokesperson.
A large bag had a hole that resulted in some lime and zinc coming into contact with another chemical that sparked a reaction on the floor. Neighbors said it’s not clear what the other chemical was, but large amounts of lime are packaged in the warehouse.
When firefighters initially tried to eliminate the fire, there were flare-ups. The department sent its hazmat and chemical units to the scene.
“The chemical unit has on it a product called Purple-K, which is a non-evasive water-repellent chemical,” Neighbors said.
Chemicals were used to essentially smother the fire. One worker reported some breathing troubles but declined further medical attention after medics on the scene checked them out.
“We did reach out to poison control, and they will follow up with him to make sure he’s doing okay,” Neighbors said.
The department then vented the warehouse and put firefighters through a decontamination process. They entered what appeared to be a portable pool of water. The decontamination process is routine for any fire, according to Neighbors.
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