Slow fire at port put out

Emergency personnel responded to a smoldering fire in one of the buildings at the SEMO Port Authority in Scott City early Friday morning.

The incident involved chemical reaction in a bay at Girardeau Stevedores, Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout said.

Iron pyrite, or fool's gold, is normally a stable material, said John Sachen of the Delta Fire Protection District, who provided hazardous materials analysis to the Scott City Fire Department. However, a chemical reaction resulted in a "slow, smoldering burn," he said. Fire officials have a "reasonable belief" that contamination by ammonium nitrate or another iron compound started the reaction.

The burning of the pyrite produced iron oxide and sulfur dioxide, which turns into sulfuric acid when inhaled, Sachen said.

Besides the sulfur dioxide, another danger was the ammonium nitrate in the products stored nearby, Cassout said, but it was soon determined that the heat was safely separated by a concrete wall from anything likely to explode.

Firefighters responded to the scene around 6 a.m. and evacuated the area within a one-and-a-half-mile radius for 15 to 30 minutes, Cassout said. It took responders about five hours to clean up the scene, Cassout said.

The fire was put out, Sachen said, by removing the unaffected pyrite and letting the rest cool down.

Friday's fire at the SEMO Port produced lumps of iron oxide. This is about half the size of a regulation basketball.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department, Sikeston Bomb Squad, Southeast Missouri Hazmat Team and agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms assisted with the response.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245