Post by Master-9 on May 29, 2004 12:13:28 GMT -5
Threat of chlorine cloud closes Rock Eagle, Schools.
By Rob Peecher
In response to a fire at a chemical warehouse in Conyers Tuesday, Putnam County EMA director Wesley Willis ordered the evacuation of campers at Rock Eagle, and caused Putnam County schools to close two hours early.
The fire at BioLab in Conyers, which started early Tuesday morning, blazed throughout the morning and continued smoldering for several hours into Tuesday night. It sent a cloud of smoke tainted with chlorine eastward. People along the I-20 corridor reported seeing the plume and being able to smell the chlorine, and there were some reports of people being irritated by the smoke - a burning sensation in their eyes and throats.
Relying on information from emergency workers stationed in the vicinity of the Putnam-Morgan county line on U.S. 441, Willis opted to evacuate Rock Eagle just before noon Tuesday. At least four different groups were camping at the 4-H center, including more than 100 burn survivors at Camp Oo-U-La.
"I decided to evacuate Rock Eagle to an emergency shelter at Putnam County High School," Willis said. "There were approximately 450 people there, and some of them were already a health risk."
Willis said in addition to the Camp Oo-U-La children there was a group of diabetics at Rock Eagle.
Willis acknowledged that he did not go to Rock Eagle himself, but he said a Putnam County Sheriff's deputy and another emergency worker were both in the area and advised him that they could "smell it pretty good" and that "it was real bad."
"With these children already a health risk, I felt it would be safer to go ahead and get them out of there," Willis said.
He said he did not consult with any of the camp directors, other emergency personnel from the county or Georgia Emergency Management Agency officials.
"I made the decision. Basically, I made a precautionary decision," Willis said. "You've already got people with physical disabilities - I made a conscious decision for the health and well-being of the people in Rock Eagle."
Willis said he did not make the decision to evacuate the schools.
"The schools weren't evacuated, they closed them early," Willis said.
The decision to evacuate or shut down the schools was made by school officials, Willis said.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Patti Swymer confirmed that schools superintendent Dennis McWilliams made the decision, but she said it was based on Willis' recommendation and the fact that an emergency shelter was being established at the high school.
Willis said Tuesday afternoon he did not know when he would allow the campers back to Rock Eagle or if they would have to spend the night at the high school. He said the school was providing lunch and dinner and the Red Cross out of Milledgeville was at the shelter assisting with the needs of the evacuees.
Later Tuesday Willis said 393 people were evacuated from Rock Eagle, 27 of whom were "asthma patients."
"The main reason I made the decision was the intelligence I was getting from the area up there," Willis said. "I thought it was better to send them to the high school than have to send 393 people to our emergency room."
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who did go to Rock Eagle after hearing that it was being evacuated, criticized Willis' decision. Sills said early Tuesday, after being notified of the fire, he contacted the sheriff's office in Newton County.
"I knew Newton County would be the first to experience problems if there were going to be any," Sills said.
The burning pool cleaning supplies had caused some people to complain of irritation, but Sills said as long as people were staying indoors they were experiencing no problems in Newton County. And though people had called the sheriff's office concerned earlier Tuesday, Sills said there was no cause for alarm in Putnam County.
"We had no real reports of this at all until Wesley Willis instructed the radio room (dispatchers) to call the fire department and the rescue squad to Rock Eagle, that he was evacuating Rock Eagle," Sills said.
Sills immediately went to Rock Eagle.
"There was some visible smoke in the area. I did not detect the smell of chlorine," Sills said.
When Sills arrived at Rock Eagle, cars were literally speeding away from the 4-H Center. Both a rescue worker and a deputy complained they were nearly struck by motorists fleeing the camp.
Dennis Thayer - one of the directors of Camp Oo-U-La - told the sheriff that because he and other volunteers are firefighters the campers needed little help organizing for the evacuation.
"Our plan was to evacuate into the buildings and leave it at that," Thayer said. Then he was notified that Rock Eagle was being evacuated.
One group of campers simply decided to go home, while the others apparently went to the shelter at the high school.
In Newton, Jasper, Morgan and Greene counties, where reports of smoke and the smell of chlorine were worse, no evacuations took place according to school and law enforcement officials in those counties.
Sills also contacted GEMA headquarters in Atlanta and spoke with Pat Cochran, the ranking individual there Tuesday, who said there were no evacuations ordered by GEMA anywhere outside of Rockdale County.
"I think it's dangerous to raise public alarm over nothing," Sills said. "Especially where he made these decisions without contacting GEMA. We had pandemonium here all day."
Willis, though, defended his decision. He said the health of the people at Rock Eagle was his overriding concern.
"It's a double-bladed sword," Willis said. "If something bad had happened, people would be asking, ‘Why hadn't they evacuated.'"
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111 N. Jefferson Ave, Eatonton GA 31024 .... Ph.706-485-3501
By Rob Peecher
In response to a fire at a chemical warehouse in Conyers Tuesday, Putnam County EMA director Wesley Willis ordered the evacuation of campers at Rock Eagle, and caused Putnam County schools to close two hours early.
The fire at BioLab in Conyers, which started early Tuesday morning, blazed throughout the morning and continued smoldering for several hours into Tuesday night. It sent a cloud of smoke tainted with chlorine eastward. People along the I-20 corridor reported seeing the plume and being able to smell the chlorine, and there were some reports of people being irritated by the smoke - a burning sensation in their eyes and throats.
Relying on information from emergency workers stationed in the vicinity of the Putnam-Morgan county line on U.S. 441, Willis opted to evacuate Rock Eagle just before noon Tuesday. At least four different groups were camping at the 4-H center, including more than 100 burn survivors at Camp Oo-U-La.
"I decided to evacuate Rock Eagle to an emergency shelter at Putnam County High School," Willis said. "There were approximately 450 people there, and some of them were already a health risk."
Willis said in addition to the Camp Oo-U-La children there was a group of diabetics at Rock Eagle.
Willis acknowledged that he did not go to Rock Eagle himself, but he said a Putnam County Sheriff's deputy and another emergency worker were both in the area and advised him that they could "smell it pretty good" and that "it was real bad."
"With these children already a health risk, I felt it would be safer to go ahead and get them out of there," Willis said.
He said he did not consult with any of the camp directors, other emergency personnel from the county or Georgia Emergency Management Agency officials.
"I made the decision. Basically, I made a precautionary decision," Willis said. "You've already got people with physical disabilities - I made a conscious decision for the health and well-being of the people in Rock Eagle."
Willis said he did not make the decision to evacuate the schools.
"The schools weren't evacuated, they closed them early," Willis said.
The decision to evacuate or shut down the schools was made by school officials, Willis said.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Patti Swymer confirmed that schools superintendent Dennis McWilliams made the decision, but she said it was based on Willis' recommendation and the fact that an emergency shelter was being established at the high school.
Willis said Tuesday afternoon he did not know when he would allow the campers back to Rock Eagle or if they would have to spend the night at the high school. He said the school was providing lunch and dinner and the Red Cross out of Milledgeville was at the shelter assisting with the needs of the evacuees.
Later Tuesday Willis said 393 people were evacuated from Rock Eagle, 27 of whom were "asthma patients."
"The main reason I made the decision was the intelligence I was getting from the area up there," Willis said. "I thought it was better to send them to the high school than have to send 393 people to our emergency room."
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who did go to Rock Eagle after hearing that it was being evacuated, criticized Willis' decision. Sills said early Tuesday, after being notified of the fire, he contacted the sheriff's office in Newton County.
"I knew Newton County would be the first to experience problems if there were going to be any," Sills said.
The burning pool cleaning supplies had caused some people to complain of irritation, but Sills said as long as people were staying indoors they were experiencing no problems in Newton County. And though people had called the sheriff's office concerned earlier Tuesday, Sills said there was no cause for alarm in Putnam County.
"We had no real reports of this at all until Wesley Willis instructed the radio room (dispatchers) to call the fire department and the rescue squad to Rock Eagle, that he was evacuating Rock Eagle," Sills said.
Sills immediately went to Rock Eagle.
"There was some visible smoke in the area. I did not detect the smell of chlorine," Sills said.
When Sills arrived at Rock Eagle, cars were literally speeding away from the 4-H Center. Both a rescue worker and a deputy complained they were nearly struck by motorists fleeing the camp.
Dennis Thayer - one of the directors of Camp Oo-U-La - told the sheriff that because he and other volunteers are firefighters the campers needed little help organizing for the evacuation.
"Our plan was to evacuate into the buildings and leave it at that," Thayer said. Then he was notified that Rock Eagle was being evacuated.
One group of campers simply decided to go home, while the others apparently went to the shelter at the high school.
In Newton, Jasper, Morgan and Greene counties, where reports of smoke and the smell of chlorine were worse, no evacuations took place according to school and law enforcement officials in those counties.
Sills also contacted GEMA headquarters in Atlanta and spoke with Pat Cochran, the ranking individual there Tuesday, who said there were no evacuations ordered by GEMA anywhere outside of Rockdale County.
"I think it's dangerous to raise public alarm over nothing," Sills said. "Especially where he made these decisions without contacting GEMA. We had pandemonium here all day."
Willis, though, defended his decision. He said the health of the people at Rock Eagle was his overriding concern.
"It's a double-bladed sword," Willis said. "If something bad had happened, people would be asking, ‘Why hadn't they evacuated.'"
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111 N. Jefferson Ave, Eatonton GA 31024 .... Ph.706-485-3501
