On Friday afternoon the WestRock Recycling Center on Columbus’ South Side caught fire. Acres of paper and plastic burned until Sunday, but nearby residents are still dealing with the aftermath.
On Monday morning workers at the WestRock Recycling Center clean up acres of charred paper and plastics. Residents who live nearby reported hearing loud explosions and seeing a cloud of smoke billow into the sky.
The blaze even managed to burn the grass surrounding the facility.
Cecilia Layla Beidleman owns a home just down the street of the recycling center. She says over the weekend smoke filled the neighborhood. Her neighbors say ash covered their windows and cars, but Beidleman says she's concerned about the inside of her home.
"We have smoke damage inside, you can still smell it inside of our home coming through our AC unit so now were getting our ducts cleaned our unit cleaned and I'm going to take [WestRock] the bill."
Beidleman has adult asthma and says cleaning will cost about $2,500. But for Beidleman, restitution is not enough. She remembers the other fires, like the one last year at another recycling center just a minutes away. According to reports from the Dispatch the fire caused $8 million in damages.
Beidleman says she's lived her since 2009, but she plans on moving out of concerns for her health.
According to Curtis Davis, vice chair for the South Side Area Commission, this is not the first recycling center fire. Davis says there are 6 recycling centers in the area and they've reported several fires within the last five years. Davis says recycling companies need to be more vigilant and there have been cases of companies not following proper fire codes.
"They are inspected annually but some folks seem to want to press the limit and wait until they're cited to do anything."
According to Columbus Battalion Chief Steve Martin, the WestRock Recycling Center worked closely with the department to comply with state and city fire codes; materials had to be stored properly and fire trucks had to have access. Martin says it appears these codes were followed at the time of the fire. He says it's not clear yet what could have caused the fire, but the results of their investigation could lead to tighter regulations.
"If we believe the cause could have been prevented through some sort of fire regulation then there are steps that we can begin taking to include that within the fire codes and fire regulations," says Martin.