Firefighters from Carl Junction and Joplin reported skin irritation after a caustic liquid melted parts of their boots while attacking a fire west of Joplin

By John Hacker and Maddison Meyers
The Joplin Globe

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Ten firefighters were sent to a Joplin hospital Friday as a precaution after chemical exposure while fighting a fire on Black Cat Road west of Joplin.

Carl Junction Fire Chief Joe Perkins said the firefighters were exposed to a caustic liquid in the burning building that was melting parts of their boots.

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“It caused some skin irritation and discomfort, so just as a precaution, we sent them to the hospital to be decontaminated,” Perkins said. “We sent five firefighters from Carl Junction and five from Joplin.”

Perkins said the alarm came at 11:54 a.m. Friday, alerting them to a fire at Black Cat Trucking, 300 N. Black Cat Road, just west of the Joplin Athletic Complex near Schifferdecker Park.

“The initial dispatch was for heavy fire and smoke showing out of one of the industrial buildings out here,” Perkins said. “Upon arrival, we had heavy smoke and fire. This plant has a lot of toxic chemicals in it and the part that was burning only had one chemical. The fire was infringing on another building that had some very, very bad stuff in it. The guys were able to get in, get it knocked down and then they were able to pull back. It probably took them about an hour and 10 minutes and they had pretty good control over the fire.”

Officials did not provide any specifics on the chemicals.

In addition to Carl Junction and Joplin, Galena, Kansas, firefighters also responded.

Perkins said the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is on the scene helping firefighters contain runoff from the water they’re using to fight the fire and prevent it from spreading toxic chemicals around the area.

He said a Missouri state fire marshal’s investigator also was on the way to help determine a cause of the fire, and a private hazmat company is helping to monitor the air.

“Air quality hasn’t been the main problem mainly because we were able to get the fire knocked down,” Perkins said. “If we didn’t stop that fire where it was and it made it to the next building, we would have probably had to have called for evacuation orders and things like that. But through a herculean effort, these guys managed to stop this fire and keep it out of this other building where a lot of the really hazardous materials are stored.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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