PORT OF VANCOUVER FIRE INVESTIGATION REVEALS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION (5/3/07)

For Immediate Release

VANCOUVER, Wash.-Preliminary reports from Vancouver Fire Department investigators indicate that the fire that occurred May 2 in Building 2645, a wood A-Frame building storing calcium nitrate agricultural fertilizer was likely started unintentionally due to mechanical failure.

The fire caused significant damage to the roof of the building, where 9,800 metric tons of the fertilizer was stored; of that total, 5,200 metric tons had just arrived at the port this week. Calcium nitrate is imported from Norway to the Port of Vancouver and is distributed across the Pacific Northwest and into Canada. Estimates are that 15 percent of the 9,800 metric tons of calcium nitrate inside the building was damaged.

Officially, the exact cause of the fire is still undetermined.

The port’s facilities department also issued a preliminary report that estimated that the damage may be listed somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million. The building is insured by the tenant, NuStar.

“At this time, we do not know if the conveyors will be overhauled or replaced, nor do we know the business loss or an estimation of the product salvage,” said the port’s Facilities Manager Todd Krout. “The figure will be published in the fire marshal’s report and issued at some point to The Columbian.”

As of Thursday afternoon (May 3), Port of Vancouver crews were working to cover the building, and will have staff on site until the covering is completed. Electricians will work Friday to separate the main building power from the conveyor control power so the out-load conveyor can be used to begin removing material from the building, Krout said.

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The Port of Vancouver, USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

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