Dangerous fire clears out St. Charles

ST. CHARLES, MINN. - Smoke shrouded the empty streets of this evacuated town Friday night after 3,600 residents fled a fire that enveloped a meat-processing plant and threatened to spew toxic fumes over homes, schools and shops.

Residents were allowed to return this morning, beginning at 10:30.

Panic first flared Friday afternoon after the flames edged dangerously close to two tanks of anhydrous ammonia in the North Star Foods plant, and late Friday one of the weakened tanks allowed some of the material to escape.

By that time, however, firefighters had largely controlled the blaze, and with workers, schoolchildren and other residents in temporary shelters, the focus turned to when they could return and whether one of the town's largest employers would rebuild.

St. Charles schools Superintendent Tom Ames had watched the thick smoke inch closer to the local elementary school Friday afternoon before deciding to bus the district's students out of the southeastern Minnesota town. After the rush of the evacuation, he waited at a local church, eating cookies and drinking coffee.

"A lot of us, myself included, are trying to figure out what to do," he said. "Our whole world has completely changed."

The blaze broke out at North Star Foods shortly after 10 a.m. Plant manager Mark Eads said that the local fire department responded within minutes and that the 110 to 120 people in the building got out quickly. No serious injuries were reported by Friday night. "It started in the ceiling above a continuous-cook oven line," Eads said. "I don't know if it was the oven that caused it or if it was the exhaust."

Ramona Rojas was working in the room next to the oven when she began to feel the heat of the fire and smell smoke. She didn't know what to do until her supervisor told the employees to run outside as fast as they could.

The city's fire department quickly called on several neighboring fire crews for assistance, said St. Charles City Administrator Nick Koverman.

Ames said the fire department asked him to send a school bus to the plant to take employees out of the area. Once he arrived with the bus, he offered to bring the employees back to the high school. None of the employees decided to get on the bus, Ames said.

"There was an atmosphere that maybe they'd get this fire under control," he said. "There were even people who brought lawn chairs out of their houses a block away from North Star to watch the fire."

Smoke drifts toward school

He turned his attention back to the elementary school, which is a few blocks from the plant. When he noticed smoke drifting toward the school shortly after noon, he decided to evacuate the elementary students to the high school. Eventually he decided to move all 1,030 students in the town to the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church at the edge of town.

Emergency sirens rang out as Ames got ready to lock the school buildings. Parents were showing up at the school, and some students even returned to the school, unsure of what to do, he said. At one point, he noticed a woman sitting on a bench in front of the high school with another woman in a wheelchair.

"They were hoping the school had a van or bus with a lift," he said.

Edwin Leibold lives about five blocks from the plant. At 1:30, he drove to Lewiston-Altura High School, one of several shelters set up by the Red Cross.

"The main street of town was just black smoke," he said. "You couldn't see anything."

By 2 p.m., schools and roads were closed, and smoke could be seen as far as 15 miles away. Police officers started knocking on doors throughout the town, telling residents to find housing outside of the city for the evening.

"We were advised to evacuate St. Charles and provide a 1-mile radius around the plant," Koverman said.

Officials were most concerned about the 30,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in the plant's tanks, and a hazardous materials team was dispatched from Rochester, about 25 miles away. "If the fire got to the tanks, it would be just like a bomb," said St. Charles Police Chief Bill Eckles.

"The panic began when people started talking about the tanks exploding," Ames said. "The city officials told me that there was potential for an explosion with some very serious deadly chemicals that could be cast into the air."

A serious health hazard

Anhydrous ammonia, even in small concentrations in the air, can affect eyes, lungs and skin, according to information from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It can cause severe burns and is considered a serious health hazard.

Although officials remained unsure Friday night when they would be able to pronounce the fire under control, Kristine Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said the firefighters were making progress.

"The good news is they are gaining ground. The firefighters are pulling down some of the structure to get to the pockets of the fire,'' she said.

North Star Foods sits on the south edge of town at St. Charles Avenue and West 13th Street. The company, founded in 1971, processes and sells chicken, pork, turkey, beef and other food products, according to its website.

'I hope North Star rebuilds'

"I would guess the building is a total loss," Eads said. "It's going to be a big hit to the community. I hope North Star rebuilds."

Marie Plaskett, executive director of the Red Cross Winona County chapter, said she expected more residents to come to the shelters after returning from work in Rochester or Winona. About 100 people had gathered at one of the shelters for a meeting, but many residents planned to stay with friends and relatives overnight.

About 30 residents from St. Charles Assisted Living were evacuated, but they were still figuring out where to stay Friday night. "It's been a very hectic day, but we've been wonderfully taken care of," said Dorothy Munz, who lives in the assisted-living facility.

In March 2007, part of Lake City, Minn., was evacuated after anhydrous ammonia leaked from a railroad car. Only a small amount of ammonia leaked, but the fumes were strong enough to force the evacuation of about 100 homes on the south side of town. No one was injured in that incident.

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