AKRON, Ohio — The fire that broke out Thursday at a building housing chemicals in Akron has been put out, the city confirmed in a press release Saturday.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been monitoring the air since the fire occurred, and the city says levels have been normal during testing. Now, they will be collecting samples from the site's perimeter and work areas for analysis.
“The work is being conducted by an environmental consultant hired by the facility representatives,” the release reads. “No unsafe levels of airborne contaminants have been detected.”
The city confirmed the hospitalized firefighter has been released and is expected to fully recover.
The fire sent a plume of smoke into the sky and caused a half-mile evacuation around the building as officials feared a possible explosion. On Friday, officials confirmed that the cause of the fire and total list of chemicals inside were still being investigated.
Some “fire suppression materials” including ethanol and methanol made their way into the nearby creek, according to the Ohio EPA. This creek feeds into Long Lake, which the city says is not a source of drinking water.
"Multiple treatment areas remain in operation," the release reads. "Field monitoring of the treatment has shown water quality beyond the last treatment location to be within acceptable water quality limits."
The release says they anticipate work to continue throughout the weekend, with oversight from the Ohio EPA.
They also say they have set up a temporary storm water bypass system to “divert impacted storm water runoff into the sanitary sewer.”
“I want to again thank our safety forces and the Ohio EPA for their round the clock attention and care to this matter since Thursday afternoon. I’m grateful that our injured firefighter is now home and recovering,” Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said in the release. “Now that the fire has been extinguished, the Akron Fire Department can begin their investigation into the fire and the EPA can conduct the necessary analysis on the site. All tests are coming back in safe ranges for air and water quality and will continue to be monitored. We remain committed to providing updates as more information becomes available.”