FWFD still on scene of Momper Insulation fire

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The Fort Wayne Fire Department has rotated crews on the scene of the large fire just west of downtown. Part of the building is still burning and Fire Chief Pete Kelly said they will let it burn itself out.

"We are going to reassess the situation on an on-going basis throughout the evening and throughout the night," said Kelly.  "We're trying to minimize the environmental impact. The more water we put on this, it's going to create more run-off. It's a risk-benefit analysis, whats burning off right now, in the long-run is going to help the situation. We'll reassess on a continual basis here."

Chief Kelly said there is currently no reason to be concerned about any health-related problems from the smoke.  He recommended staying inside, with the windows closed, if anyone has any concerns. 

"There has been no evacuation," said Kelly.  "There's no need for that right now, it hasn't been an issue."

Allen County Office of Homeland Security has been monitoring the air quality, and has sent in water samples. 

Momper Insulation President, Matt Momper said the building contained foam for the insulation and the company's trucks.  Both added to the big fire.

Momper said the business had a plan in place for a disaster.

"We have a contingency plan right now," said Momper.  "There are trucks moving from Crown Point, South Bend, Columbus, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, and Indianapolis with product and trucks.

"Its very sad, but tomorrow morning we will be insulating homes in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I assure you this. We are ready to go."

Momper said the company has three sites in Fort Wayne.  It employs 60 people.

The 2400 block of W. Main Street remains closed.  Officials believe the road will remain closed during the morning commute, but do not expect Jefferson Blvd. to be a problem.

One firefighter was injured when a wall collapsed. He was taken to the hospital in good condition and was released. 
 

This is the previously posted story:

Fort Wayne police have closed the 2400 block of W. Main Street while Fort Wayne Fire Department crews work a major fire at Momper Insulation .

Crews were called around 11:30 a.m. to the insulation company across the street from Lindenwood Cemetery. Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen from miles away including the Leo area. Residents on Cedar Canyon Road in the Huntertown area also told NewsChannel 15 they could see the smoke and even smell a chemical odor.

It is unknown if anyone was inside the building when the fire broke out or what caused it.  A NewsChannel 15 photographer on the scene reported hearing at least a dozen explosions in the area.

Fire officials said they are concerned about chemical exposure from the business in the area and are advising motorists to avoid it. 

At 2:30, Fire Chief Pete Kelly said crews did not have the fire under control 'by any means' at that point, but they were making progress.  Smoke was getting lighter and the fire was cooling off. Kelly said they expect to have crews fighting the fire for quite a while longer.  He expects them to be working into the evening and maybe overnight.

Click here to see more pictures from the Momper Insulation fire.

Kelly said multiple products are burning, but could not say exactly what those were and a cause of the fire is still undetermined.  A HazMat group is in place to assess the situation and try to determine what is inside. There have not been any mandatory evacuations, but as they learn more about the air quality, that will be reevaluated.

“The only suggestions I can give to people out there is if there is concern, stay in your house and shut the windows. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there’s no point in going outside in this plume until we have some more information from our hazardous material team that’s in action right now,” said Kelly.

Director of Fort Wayne-Allen County Office of Homeland Security Bernie Beier said there was some water runoff into a nearby creek from fighting the fire.  That creek feeds into the St. Mary's River.   Crews are containing as much of that runoff as possible.

The second video clip was submitted by Teresa Gloyd who took it with her iPhone and used the WANE Wireless app.