The city released evidence that Richmond’s plastics recycling operation was a fire hazard

On Friday morning, Richmond officials said the fire broke out at a former plastic recycling business It is under control., but not completely gone yet. They expect it to smoke and smoke for several days. The fire displaced more than a thousand residents and sent noxious smoke and debris into the air.

Some residents want to know why the fire could not be prevented.

The business that owned the warehouses, My Way Trading, had a history of safety violations – including fires. The City of Richmond filed several legal documents this week.

In a PowerPoint presentation provided by the city, the site was It was seen as a scrap rather than a recycled business in 2019. Photos show wet and rotting cardboard boxes filled with every kind of plastic you can imagine sitting outside – many of them piled up or leaking. Above. Some materials are simply thrown into an unorganized pile.

Among other things, court and city documents allege that all the plastic and trash was blocking the building’s exits, the sprinkler system wasn’t working, and fire extinguishers could fall to the floor. The buildings themselves also need a lot of maintenance.

In the year In 2019, the City of Richmond’s Unsafe Buildings Commission ordered the company to clean up, demolish or otherwise vacate the property. The case ended up in Wayne County Circuit Court, which affirmed the commission’s decision in March 2020.

Richmond City Attorney AJ Sickmann said the city purchased part of the property to gain access to some buildings to begin cleanup.

The city agreed to allow My Way Trading to sell some of the plastic in its warehouses to get rid of the waste — but the company had trouble selling the plastic during the outbreak, he said.

Siekman said cleaning up the 14-acre facility is also a big undertaking. As a result, it was still full of plastic and other things at the time of the fire.

“Right now the focus is on the site and the health and safety of the residents. Once we get past that, and hopefully that’s in the near future, my focus will shift to the legal lens and I’ll be meeting with the legal counsel,” Sieckman said.

Sickman said the unsafe building order still stands, so the former owner of My Way Trading remains responsible.

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Firefighters are investigating the cause of the fire. Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said the fire almost completely consumed warehouses.

Brown said if the smoke isn’t moving into neighborhoods, the city will consider whether residents in the evacuation zone can return to their homes.

The owner of My Way Trading could not be reached for comment.

A community helpline for Richmond residents is available at 765-973-9300 and the City of Richmond website.

Rebecca is an energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter. @beckythiele.

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