TO BAN THE APP OVER ITS CONNECTION TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. NEW TONIGHT IN A KCCI EIGHT NEWS INVESTIGATION, FIREFIGHTERS IN AN IOWA TOWN ARE TELLING KCCI THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT CHEMICALS WERE HOUSED INSIDE A PLANT WHEN IT EXPLODED IT LAST WEEK. THE MASSIVE FIRE BURNED THROUGH A MARENGO SHINGLE RECYCLING FACILITY. THE TOWN’S POLICE CHIEF SAYS HE ASKED FOR A LIST OF CHEMICALS INSIDE THE PLANT BEFORE THIS DEVASTATING EXPLOSION. AND KCCI INVESTIGATES LEARNED A STATE OSHA INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY, ALONG WITH AN INVESTIGATION BY THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL. CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER JAMES STRATTON IS HERE TONIGHT WITH THE QUESTION STATE OFFICIALS HAD BEFORE THE PLANT EXPLODED. PLUS, THE KEEP OF FIRE SUPPRESSION EQUIPMENT THAT DIDN’T WORK THAT DAY. JAMES AND STEPHEN STACEY, THE COMPANY’S SPRINKLER SYSTEM DID NOT TRIGGER AND DID NOT APPEAR TO BE WORKING. ACCORDING TO THE TOWN’S POLICE CHIEF, BEN GRAY. PLUS, THIS WASN’T THE FIRST TIME THAT THE PLANT CAUGHT FIRE IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. FIREFIGHTERS SPENT ROUGHLY AN HOUR AND A HALF FIGHTING A FIRE HERE HERE IN LATE OCTOBER. IT WAS AFTER THAT FIRE. THE TOWN’S POLICE CHIEF AND IOWA DNR MET WITH THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY AND ASKED FOR A LIST OF CHEMICALS THAT WERE INSIDE THIS PLANT. THE OWNER DID NOT GIVE THEM THAT LIST. SO WHEN THE FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAPPENED RIGHT HERE LAST WEEK, FIREFIGHTERS DIDN’T KNOW THE CHEMICALS THAT WERE BURNING INSIDE. ACCORDING TO ITS WEBSITE, C60, THE COMPANY THAT WAS OPERATING RECYCLES ROOFING SHINGLES AND TURNS THEM INTO SAND OIL AND FIBERGLASS. THE COMPANY SAYS IT USES A, QUOTE, PROPRIETY TERRY SOLUTION TO BREAK DOWN THE SHINGLES BUT DOESN’T SAY WHAT THOSE CHEMICALS ARE. A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE COMPANY DID NOT RETURN OUR PHONE CALL TODAY. POLICE CHIEF BEN GRAY SAYS THE COMPANY HAS SINCE PROVIDED THAT LIST OF CHEMICALS THAT WERE INSIDE. BUT THAT WAS AFTER THE FIRE LAST WEEK. HE WOULD NOT SAY WHAT THOSE CHEMICALS WERE. NOW, THE MARENGO FIRE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO GET THOSE CHEMICALS OUT OF THEIR FIRE GEAR, THEIR COATS AND PANTS. IF THEY CAN’T, THE DEPARTMENT’S TREASURER SAYS IT COULD COST THE CITY ROUGHLY 80 GRAND TO REPLACE EVERY ONE OF THEM. STEVE JAMES, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I WILL. NOW INVESTIGATING THE PLANT IN BARINGO, BUT IT WON’T RELEASE ANY DETAILS JUST YET. FIRE BURNED FOR ROUGHLY 17 HOURS AND SENT SEVERAL PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL. SOME OF THEM ARE STI
C6-Zero plant's sprinkler didn't trigger after explosion, appeared to not be working
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Updated: 8:07 PM CST Dec 13, 2022
As firefighters responded to an explosion and fire at the C6-Zero plant in Marengo, Iowa, they didn't know the chemicals inside and the plant's sprinkler system didn't go off and appeared to not be working, according to Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray.Gray and others asked for the list of chemicals inside after an Oct. 25 fire, but never received that list until after the Dec. 8 explosion, he says.On Oct. 25, firefighter call logs show Marengo firefighters responded to a fire at 810 East South Street, and three minutes later, diesel tanks caught fire at the plant. Firefighters were on scene for roughly an hour and thirty minutes on Oct. 25, everyone escaped the fire safely, according to the department’s call logs.After that Oct. 25 fire, police Chief Ben Gray and members of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources asked C6-Zero owner Howard Brand III for a list of chemicals inside the plant and received a “non-response,” according to Gray.C6-Zero, according to its website, breaks down roofing shingles into three different products, sand, oil and fiberglass. A call to the company’s spokesperson, Mark Corallo, was not returned. Gray says an investigation into the Dec. 8 explosion is underway, adding that the company has since provided a list of chemicals, but wouldn’t say what those chemicals were. Iowa OSHA has opened an investigation into what happened, but will not release any details until the investigation is complete.Mark Swift is the city’s former mayor and current treasurer for the Marengo Fire Department. Swift said the department is currently working to get chemicals and oil out of their jackets and pants. If they can’t, the department will have to get new gear.“It’s about $3,000 per person. And we got 28 guys who probably have to have new gear,” Swift said. “So, that’s like $80,000 for the stuff we got to replace.” C6-Zero owner faced state regulations in ColoradoHoward Brand III planned to operate a similar company in Colorado in 2019, and violated the state's Solid Waste Act, according to Colorado's Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division.Brand's facility, Brand Technologies, was inspected on Aug. 22, 2019, and was given an informal notice by inspectors when they discovered potential violations. The company was operating without environmental protections in place, such as a liner or other best management practices, according to the department's communications manager, Laura Dixon."The division advised the site to not accept additional waste material until they come into compliance with the applicable regulations for solid waste sites in the state," Dixon said. "The division met with Mr. Brand and his consultant on Sept. 9, 2019, to discuss the cleanup of the illegal disposal site that Brand was operating in Windsor, Colorado." Dixon says the state met with Brand and he told them he planned to process asphalt shingles into usable products at a different facility in Florence, Colorado. The state told him he would need to submit plans and get proper approval before doing so. "At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Brand agreed to pursue the proper permits to operate a solid waste processing facility," Dixon said.Then, on Oct. 18, 2019, inspectors found 20-30 rail cars filled with waste asphalt shingles at the location in Florence before getting approval, which violated the state's Solid Waste Act, Dixon said."Ultimately, Mr. Brand decided to pursue his asphalt shingle recycling business in another state," Dixon said.
MARENGO, Iowa — As firefighters responded to an explosion and fire at the C6-Zero plant in Marengo, Iowa, they didn't know the chemicals inside and the plant's sprinkler system didn't go off and appeared to not be working, according to Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray.
Gray and others asked for the list of chemicals inside after an Oct. 25 fire, but never received that list until after the Dec. 8 explosion, he says.
On Oct. 25, firefighter call logs show Marengo firefighters responded to a fire at 810 East South Street, and three minutes later, diesel tanks caught fire at the plant. Firefighters were on scene for roughly an hour and thirty minutes on Oct. 25, everyone escaped the fire safely, according to the department’s call logs.
After that Oct. 25 fire, police Chief Ben Gray and members of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources asked C6-Zero owner Howard Brand III for a list of chemicals inside the plant and received a “non-response,” according to Gray.
C6-Zero, according to its website, breaks down roofing shingles into three different products, sand, oil and fiberglass. A call to the company’s spokesperson, Mark Corallo, was not returned.
Gray says an investigation into the Dec. 8 explosion is underway, adding that the company has since provided a list of chemicals, but wouldn’t say what those chemicals were.
Iowa OSHA has opened an investigation into what happened, but will not release any details until the investigation is complete.
Mark Swift is the city’s former mayor and current treasurer for the Marengo Fire Department. Swift said the department is currently working to get chemicals and oil out of their jackets and pants. If they can’t, the department will have to get new gear.
“It’s about $3,000 per person. And we got 28 guys who probably have to have new gear,” Swift said. “So, that’s like $80,000 for the stuff we got to replace.”
C6-Zero owner faced state regulations in Colorado
Howard Brand III planned to operate a similar company in Colorado in 2019, and violated the state's Solid Waste Act, according to Colorado's Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division.
Brand's facility, Brand Technologies, was inspected on Aug. 22, 2019, and was given an informal notice by inspectors when they discovered potential violations. The company was operating without environmental protections in place, such as a liner or other best management practices, according to the department's communications manager, Laura Dixon.
"The division advised the site to not accept additional waste material until they come into compliance with the applicable regulations for solid waste sites in the state," Dixon said. "The division met with Mr. Brand and his consultant on Sept. 9, 2019, to discuss the cleanup of the illegal disposal site that Brand was operating in Windsor, Colorado."
Dixon says the state met with Brand and he told them he planned to process asphalt shingles into usable products at a different facility in Florence, Colorado. The state told him he would need to submit plans and get proper approval before doing so.
"At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Brand agreed to pursue the proper permits to operate a solid waste processing facility," Dixon said.
Then, on Oct. 18, 2019, inspectors found 20-30 rail cars filled with waste asphalt shingles at the location in Florence before getting approval, which violated the state's Solid Waste Act, Dixon said.
"Ultimately, Mr. Brand decided to pursue his asphalt shingle recycling business in another state," Dixon said.
