In the Jennings area of North St. Louis County, Missouri an abandoned commercial building is ablaze with fifteen different fire departments responding. The Florissant Valley Fire Protection District and St. Louis County HAZMAT teams have been called to the scene. According to reports the building was formerly a bowling ball manufacturing facility and was filled with residual chemicals, crews have been responding to various hazardous materials calls there for weeks before the fire. Evacuations of residential areas northwest of the fire are underway in the event that toxic fumes are rendered airborne. Citizens who are unable to leave their homes are being advised to close windows, turn off the air conditioning and shelter in place. These measures will remain in place until the Environmental Protection Agency gives the all-clear.
Emergency crews are on Xograph Avenue with an abandoned building fire. Residents and business northwest of Xograph Avenue are recommended to evacuate the area. If you are unable to evacuate, close all windows, turn off all air conditioning units and shelter in place.
— St. Louis County PD (@stlcountypd) October 28, 2021
Evacuations Underway Due To Massive HAZMAT Fire
Nearby businesses and The Buzz Westfall Shopping Center are also being evacuated at this time. According to the St. Louis Fire Dept. the building is a single-story 500k square foot warehouse.
Local NBC affiliate KSDK reports,
“The fire is inside an old bowling ball factory that has been abandoned since 2018. The resins and some other materials that were used to make the balls are creating a hazmat situation, Riverview Fire Department officials told 5 On Your Side. The Florissant deputy fire chief added there aren’t toxic levels of the dangerous materials in the smoke, but all smoke is inherently toxic, so crews are evacuating the area until the Environmental Protection Agency gives the all clear.”
North County Fire and Rescue posted to Social Media:
“The large fire on Xograph has now been elevated to a 3rd Alarm.
This is an extremely complex and large scale fire and Hazmat situation. Evacuations of the area have started.Under no circumstance should you travel through this area.Please expect closures in the area to last hours.
Please keep all our first responders in your thoughts as they work diligently to bring this situation under control safely.”
