Delavan business has been ‘problematic’ fire chief says
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
A recent fire at Strategic Materials in Delavan has led to an abatement notice from the city closing the business and declaring it to be unfit for human habitation until several conditions are met.
“The city is concerned and is dealing with the situation,” Administrator Denise Pieroni said.
“This was very serious in putting our firemen in harm’s way,” Mayor Mel Nieuwenhuis said.
The fire at the glass recycling facility, at 1849 Hobbs Dr., was called in at 12:16 a.m. on March 31. It took place in nearly the same location as a previous fire that happened on Nov. 7, according to Fire Chief Tim O’Neill.
He said fire departments that helped extinguish last week’s fire were Town of Delavan and Village of Darien. O’Neill said 45 firefighters participated and three of them suffered minor injuries.
The fire, according to O’Neill, started in or near the conveyer system, though he could not definitively determine the cause of the blaze. He said the conveyer system, two nearby machines and other equipment in the area were on fire when the fire department arrived on scene, along with heavy smoke.
He said the fire department arrived later than it could have because the four employees working at Strategic Materials at the time of the fire tried to put it out themselves rather than calling 911. The employees did not call for help until after the automated sprinkler system was triggered, which automatically notified emergency departments.
“They should have called immediately. The property has been problematic,” O’Neill said.
He said the business has complicated machinery that’s difficult to access and also made it difficult to determine the cause of the fire.
The fire in November, according to O’Neill, was similar in nature and location but not as intense as last week’s blaze. He said the November fire did not set off the automated sprinkler system while the fire on March 31 was considerably worse and took a much greater effort to suppress.
Abatement order issued
The abatement order was issued on April 1. It cites the limited conditional use permit the city issued to Strategic Materials in January of 2017 and its conditions. The order, in part, stated the business had violated conditions regarding fire safety and city ordinances relating to fire safety and public nuisances.
The order also referenced a Feb. 25 meeting of the General Operation Committee regarding complaints filed against the business for odor and glass in the street. Strategic Materials was given 90 days to address the concerns.
According to the order, O’Neill determined a public nuisance exists at Strategic Materials, which poses a great and immediate danger to public health and safety. Strategic Materials was ordered to be abated and the costs of the abatement will be charged to the business.
Strategic Materials cannot be inhabited again until it satisfies 16 conditions listed in the order including but not limited to:
- The sprinkler system must be upgraded and inspected;
- The alarm system needs to be upgraded so it will sound in the entire building;
- Dust shall not be allowed to accumulate;
- Poor housekeeping practices must be improved;
- Inoperable overhead doors must be repaired;
- Materials must be stored in an organized manner;
- All safety barriers and emergency accesses must be installed and operational;
- Extension cords can no longer be used as substitutes for permanent wiring;
- A “Safety Manager” position shall be initiated and assigned for all shifts;
- A plan must be developed to ensure proper emergency notification;
- An emergency evacuation plan must be created that includes semi-annual fire drills witnessed by the fire department;
- One duty manager per shift must be working who is trained in fire safety notification systems;
- All deliveries of source materials to the business will be terminated until the city can inspect them, and;
- The fire department must be allowed to inspect the business daily with Strategic Materials covering that cost.
O’Neill said an official report about the fire and its cause will be completed this week.
Nieuwenhuis said the issue will likely come before the Common Council at some point with the potential revocation of the conditional use permit for the business.
Efforts to reach management or ownership of Strategic Materials for this story were unsuccessful.
