They say the silo structure is sound and don't expect it to collapse. Those evacuated have been allowed back in their homes and businesses.
Once the fire was out at the silo owned by ADM Grain, crews used a wrecking ball to drain $3.5 million worth of wheat grain. Toledo fire says the company is looking into salvaging this grain, shopping it around as feed for livestock.
The EPA is also keeping an eye on the piles of grain. It doesn't want run-off into the Maumee River, because it could clog up the oxygen levels.
Original story: September 13
A day-long drama is playing out in east Toledo where a grain silo caught fire forcing evacuations and street closures. The focus now is bringing down the silo eventually. Crews began hitting the structure with a wrecking ball Monday evening.
It's been a very long day for crews on the scene trying to stop the fire and keep people in the area safe. Some people in this area are still being kept back from their homes and businesses.
At last check, police are escorting residents into a nearby mobile home park allowing them to get their medication. There are 27 homes in that park and right now, no one is allowed to stay there.
Shortly after smoke started piping out of this 120-foot grain silo, neighbors on Toledo's east side came out for a look. Firefighters then put out an evacuation order. Alan Hill who lives near the silo says, "I was just home taking a nap, My wife come in and said we were supposed to evacuate. I said, 'What for?' She said this thing's going to blow up. I said, 'Let it blow up. I ain't got no place to go.'"
But there was no telling how this fire might go. So, the owners of the silo, ADM, had crews separate it from the others. Workers cut the beams along the sides and severed it from the conveyor belt on top. Bt. Chief Tom Jaksetic of the Bureau of Homeland Security says, "Well, the reason they did that was in the case that it did fall."
Inside that silo, firefighters estimate $32 million worth of wheat grain.
As darkness fell, crews swung a wrecking ball puncturing a hole in the silo 45 feet from the top. Their plan was to drain the water pumped in by fire hoses and the grain itself. The hole may also cause a collapse.
After an entire day of mapping out a plan of attack and coordinating numerous departments, crews simply wanted to get to the heart of this fire and get it out.
Earlier in the day, the evacuation area was significantly large. Dozens hunkered down for hours at the East Toledo Senior Activities Center until about 10:00 p.m. when they were told to go home.
Grain silos in our area have caught fire before. Back in 1997, an Anderson's grain elevator had to be shut down in Maumee. A worker discovered the fire in a corn cob processing building and firefighters quickly contained it to keep it from spreading.
In January 2000, a grain elevator caught fire in east Toledo. It took a while to put that fire out as well because it was in a confined space.
Back in July 2005, the Anderson's grain elevator at the Cargill plant on Edwin Drive exploded. That's just across the river from Monday's silo fire. A fire burned there for days. It was ruled accidental.
