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Advantage Metal Recycling Fire

 
Site Contact:
Doug Ferguson
OSC

(ferguson.doug@epa.gov)

Site Location:
1153 South 12th Street
Kansas City, KS 66105
epaosc.org/advantagemetalrecycling
NRC#: 1367675 & 1367677

The Kansas City Fire Department (KCKFD) responded to a fire that initiated due to unknown causes at the Advantage Metals Recycling located at 1153 South 12th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66105 early in the morning on May 19, 2023.

Around 10:00 a.m. the same day, U.S. EPA Region 7 (EPA) assistance was requested by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to provide environmental monitoring support.

EPA dispatched federal On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) along with laboratory field deployable support and technical assistance contractors to monitor and sample emissions from the fire. Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas (WYCOKCK) Emergency management Agency (EMA) Operations Manager and KCKFD Assistant Chief -- serving as Incident Commander -- were on-scene coordinating the local response efforts.  The Incident Commander also worked closely with the Fire Marshal.

After meeting with, and in coordination with on-site incident command, EPA began conducting real-time air monitoring for particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ambient air quality parameters (Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Monoxide (NO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), and Nitrogen Oxides (NOX).  Additionally, laboratory air samples for VOCs and laboratory water samples for metals, VOCs and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were collected.  Detailed maps of sample locations as well as sampling and monitoring data are in the documents section of this website. 

As firefighting efforts were conducted, real-time air monitoring data was shared with the IC for their decision making and risk communication.  The Public Information Officer (PIO) for the KCKFD coordinated with the EPA Region 7 Emergency Response PIO on messaging on the data collected during the fire event. 

Air quality in the Kansas City metropolitan area was impacted by smoke and particulate matter from the Canadian wildfires as it moved its way through the region on Friday, May 19 – the same day the fire at Advantage Metals Recycling occurred. A Code Orange – using EPA’s Air Quality Index – was issued for the Kansas City metropolitan area due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality data collected at outdoor monitors across the United States is also available on the AirData page.

EPA demobilized from the site at approximately 7 p.m. on May 19, 2023.

The following agencies are involved with the response:

  1. Kansas City Kansas Fire Department
  2. Unified Government of WYCOKCK
  3. Unified Government Emergency Management/Health
  4. Kansas State Fire Marshals Office
  5. Kansas Department of Health & Environment
  6. EPA Region 7
  7. National Response Center (NRC)
  8. National Weather Service (NWS)
  9. Kansas City Kansas Police Department
  10. Kansas City Kansas Public Works
  11. Kansas City Kansas Water Pollution Control
  12. Johnson County, Kansas, Consolidated Fire District 1
  13. Kansas City, Missouri, Aviation Department