Chemical Fire Evacuates Three Tigard Businesses

Chlorine is corrosive in liquid form, it can be a respiratory irritant in gas form and can cause dizziness and nausea.

Photo courtesy: Tualitan Valley Fire & Rescue

(TIGARD, Ore.) - Crews from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue were called out over a report of chlorine tainted smoke behind the Value Village in Tigard on Main Street Saturday at 5:30 PM.

Cassandra Ulven with TVF&R says firefighters from the Tigard, Progress, King City and Tualatin fire stations arrived within minutes and knocked down a fire that had started in a trash compactor behind the Value Village, Rite Aid and Woodcraft stores.

"Due to the amount of combustible materials in the trash compactor and bin, the fire continued to smolder for over an hour," she said.

Fumes were drawn in through ventilation systems Ulven reported, in all three of the buildings. As a result, firefighters and Tigard Police officers evacuated all employees and customers to protect them from inhaling any of the dangerous smoke, Ulven said.

"The cause of the fire was soon discovered to be pool cleaning chemicals -including chlorine, bromine and algaecide -which had been thrown into the trash compactor by a Rite Aid employee. It’s likely the chemicals generated heat and ignited other rubbish in the compactor."

Fortunately there were no injuries, though Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue’s Hazardous Materials team remained on scene for several hours to ensure that the fumes were properly mitigated. The City of Tigard’s Public Works Department also brought in a backhoe to help break up the remaining compacted trash to ensure that the fire would not rekindle.

Chlorine is corrosive in liquid form, it can be a respiratory irritant in gas form and can cause dizziness and nausea. Though chlorine can be found in many household cleaning products, it is imperative that it is disposed of properly.

Any unwanted hazardous household products such as bleach, pesticides, leftover paint, solvents and automotive fluids should be taken to one of Metro's hazardous waste facilities where they will recycle them or dispose of them safely. Call Metro at 503-234-3000 for the nearest disposal location or visit them on the web at metro-region.org.