By Patrick Lohmann
The Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It took firefighters 30 hours and 9 million gallons of water to fully extinguish a four-story tall junked car fire in the South Valley in late July, but dozens of residents packed into a community center room Wednesday evening with still burning questions.
Residents had a chance to ask emergency response organizations, environmental health agencies and the Fire Department about the fire, which ignited at Albuquerque Metals Recycling Inc. on July 25 and prompted a city air quality warning for those downwind of the smoke. Bernalillo County Commissioner Art De La Cruz organized the forum.
An Air Quality Bureau spokesman reassured residents that smoke particulates did not exceed Environmental Protection Agency safety standards during the fire near Rio Bravo and Second Street. Tests are ongoing over whether chemicals from the pile of junk poured into a nearby ditch as firefighters drenched the burning pile.
Some residents were concerned that they weren’t immediately notified about the blaze and wondered why no attempts were made to notify them directly, through a “reverse 911" telephone call operation or otherwise.
“I just think it’s incompetence,” resident Marla Painter said. “Many, many people in this neighborhood have no access to the Internet, especially the elderly, and they’re the most vulnerable.”
Bernalillo County Emergency Manager Roger Tannen said residents weren’t immediately threatened by the fire, and “reverse 911" calls only happen in dire emergencies.
“The ‘reverse 911' system is reserved for strictly emergencies,” he said. “From my point of view, I was watching the news. ... It sounded like everything was under control.” Officials encouraged all residents to sign up for Nixle, an online emergency notification service that would allow the Fire Department and emergency management to send mass texts or emails in case an emergency occurs.
Other residents said they’re worried about the numerous South Valley companies that deal with hazardous chemicals and implored officials to tighten regulations on them. “It just doesn’t make and sense to me that this can continue without regulation,” resident Jeff Klas told Bernalillo County Fire Department officials. “We don’t want another one of these in two years, and I’m sure you don’t either.” Fire Department officials said the company was in compliance with all regulations as of early this year. However, officials acknowledged that zoning in the area was out of date, and they would work to increase regulations on those businesses through zoning changes.
Rober Fiser, the plant’s owner, told residents that the plant is months away from getting a stronger metal shredder, which will prevent the towering junk piles from accumulating.
“That inventory will be gone,” he said. “It doesn’t make anybody any money to have huge chunks sitting around.” The new equipment should be up and running by January, he said. Stay informed To receive emergency notifications from the Bernalillo County Office of Emergency Management, sign up at Nixle.com.
Copyright 2011 Albuquerque Journal