The fire that burned for eight days at a plastics recycling business in West Virginia has been extinguished, but the event remains under investigation.
The fire at a warehouse operated in Parkersburg by Intercontinental Export Import Inc. (IEI) first was reported Oct. 21 but wasn't fully extinguished until Oct. 29, according to Lawrence Messina, a spokesman with the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
Firefighters then had to return to the site on Nov. 1 after smoke was reported from lingering hot spots. Four other IEI recycling sites in the state have been inspected for safety in recent days, Messina said.
The state also has asked IEI for a more detailed list of the warehouse's contents. An initial list provided by the company included plastics such as glycol-modified PET and several types of nylon.
"What they gave us was a very simple list, and we need more information," Messina said. IEI officials told the state that accurate records of the types of plastic materials at the site were destroyed in the fire. The firm has been trying to recreate the site's inventory from other documents, Messina added.
IEI is part of SirNaik Group, a collection of recycling, scrap and compounding businesses in West Virginia and nearby states. A company spokesman said Nov. 3 that the firm was working with local officials and starting cleanup efforts, but declined further comment.
The plant was empty at the time the fire was reported. No injuries were reported among the more than 100 firefighters who battled the blaze.
No cause of the fire has been identified. The site covers 450,000 square feet spread over three buildings, including one massive structure that covers 350,000 square feet.