Firefighters battle a blaze in a warehouse at the Georgia Ports Authority Ocean Terminal, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, in Savannah, Ga. Burning rubber from the fire at the Port of Savannah sent up a towering column of black smoke that could be seen from miles away. The cause of the fire wasn鈥檛 immediately known, but all port workers were accounted for and unharmed.(AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
Summary
SAVANNAH, Georgia鈥� Firefighters battled a giant blaze fueled by 5,600 tons of rubber Saturday at the Port of Savannah in Georgia, where a towering column of black smoke could be seen from miles away.
By late Saturday, the fire department said its crews had contained the fire, but it could take a while for the flames to burn out inside a warehouse covering 226,000 square feet (20,996 sqare meters) at the port鈥檚 Ocean Terminal just west of downtown Savannah.
鈥淚t is contained,鈥� Savannah Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Mark Keller said late Saturday afternoon, after the fire had burned for at least five hours. 鈥淲ill it burn all night? There鈥檚 no telling. It鈥檚 solid blocks of rubber that are burning.鈥�
Keller said firefighters were surrounding the warehouse with hoses on three sides and using industrial pumps to suck water from the Savannah River and blast in through water cannons. Crews will continue soaking into the night and Sunday if necessary.
The cause of the fire wasn鈥檛 immediately known, but all port workers were accounted for and unharmed.
No mandatory evacuations have been ordered. Authorities are asking people in the downtown historic district, Savannah鈥檚 tourism hub, to stay indoors as much as possible to limit exposure to smoke.
鈥淧lease limit the time you鈥檙e out,鈥� Keller said, adding he didn鈥檛 expect people to cancel dinner reservations or shopping trips. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e finished at the restaurant or finished with shopping, go back to your hotel room or go home.鈥�
Keller said firefighters probably won鈥檛 be able to get close enough to investigate the cause until Sunday.
鈥淪olid rubber blocks, they鈥檙e going to burn and we鈥檙e going to keep putting water on it,鈥� Keller said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l just do it until the fire鈥檚 out.鈥�
Savannah-Chatham County police closed some streets near the port terminal and smoke slowed traffic on the Talmadge Bridge that spans the Savannah River to South Carolina. Police also asked a few hotels near the port terminal and the Savannah College of Art and Design, which has buildings in the area, to either evacuate or keep people inside.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not worried about the fire getting over there at this point,鈥� said police spokesman Julian Miller. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the smoke. It鈥檚 going to be heavy, oily and ugly.鈥�
Robert Morris, spokesman for the Georgia Ports Authority, said the burning area contained about 5,600 tons of imported raw rubber used in manufacturing.
鈥淭he warehouse is full of rubber, so it鈥檚 a rubber fire,鈥� he said.
June Kramarczyk of Bluffton, South Carolina, and her husband were traveling to Savannah when they saw the smoke plumes rising in the distance. They pulled over once they reached the river to get a better look.
鈥淚t鈥檚 covering the whole sky in front of us, almost as if there was a volcano going off,鈥� Kramarczyk said. 鈥淲e could see the smoke from 15 miles away. My husband said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 got to be a huge fire.'鈥�
Morris said smoke could be seen from Tybee Island, about 18 miles east of the port terminal.
The Port of Savannah is the nation鈥檚 fourth-busiest seaport for containerized cargo. The Ocean Terminal, which covers 200 acres (81 hectares), handles farm equipment and other heavy machinery as well as automobiles and bulk goods such as wood products and steel.