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west virginia department of environmental protection
west virginia department of environmental protection
west virginia department of environmental protection

Peoples Cartage Warehouse Fire Response

Incident Overview

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is overseeing environmental response and cleanup activities following the warehouse fire at 4301 Camden Avenue in Parkersburg.

The fire was fully extinguished late on July 7, 2026. The site has since transitioned from emergency response to cleanup and remediation under WVDEP oversight.

Preliminary information indicates the warehouse primarily contained plastic and rubber pellets, thermoplastic resins, plastic containers, pallets, and similar materials. WVDEP and other responding agencies continue working to identify and catalogue materials stored at the facility.

WVDEP's response has included:

  • Initial air monitoring and coordination with U.S. EPA Region 3 for expanded monitoring
  • Water sampling in the Little Kanawha River
  • Deployment of containment booms
  • Assessment of runoff and drainage pathways
  • Oversight of debris characterization, disposal, and site remediation
  • Coordination with local, state, and federal response partners and the Responsible Party.

The West Virginia State Fire Marshal's Office is leading the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire.

Update: August 12, 2026

The WVDEP continues to coordinate with Peoples Cartage and other state and federal agencies as cleanup and remediation continue at the Camden Avenue site. WVDEP has issued an enforcement order requiring Peoples Cartage to develop and implement plans for site cleanup, characterization, and waste disposal; maintain stormwater controls to prevent runoff from affecting nearby waters; and conduct ongoing sampling. Both WVDEP and Peoples Cartage are analyzing samples for more than 90 parameters commonly evaluated following structure fires and associated with building materials, plastics, resins, and combustion. Results received to date have not identified concentrations warranting additional response or protective measures beyond the ongoing cleanup, monitoring, and remediation.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) also collected approximately 200 water and soil samples from agricultural and residential properties where sampling was requested. Those samples were collected on or after July 19, 2026 and analyzed by U.S. EPA Region 3's Mobile Lab for parameters commonly associated with combustion, smoke, ash, and fire debris and by the WVDA for heavy metals. None of the compounds analyzed were detected in the residential water samples reported to date, while low concentrations of some compounds were detected in soil samples. These compounds can come from many combustion sources, including wood burning, vehicle emissions, wildfires, and other fires. The results were evaluated against applicable state “De minimis” screening levels. While some were above state levels, samples did not exceed federal action levels. No additional response or protective measures are required at this time.

WVDA also collected samples of produce, vegetation, and honey and partnered with a third-party laboratory to test for semi-volatile compounds. Residual concentrations of some contaminants were detected in certain samples, but at levels well below those considered a health concern.

Among the compounds evaluated were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be produced when materials such as wood, fuel, plastics and other organic matter are burned. Because PAHs can result from a variety of combustion sources, they are routinely evaluated following fires.

Water and soil sample locations and results and other sampling and resource information, including a PAH fact sheet, can be found on the West Virginia Department of Agriculture 's website.

Air Quality Monitoring

At WVDEP's request, U.S. EPA Region 3 conducted expanded air monitoring from the afternoon of July 5 through the morning of July 8, 2026.

EPA initially deployed monitors at five locations around the facility. The equipment provided readings to EPA response personnel every 15 minutes.

Air Monitoring Parameters

  • Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5
  • Coarse particulate matter, or PM10
  • Volatile organic compounds
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Hydrogen sulfide
  • Hydrogen cyanide

Parameter Selection

These parameters were selected because they include common smoke and combustion-related pollutants, as well as gases that may be associated with burning plastics and other synthetic materials. Their selection for monitoring does not mean they were known to be present at harmful levels.

Air Monitoring Results

On July 6, one monitor north of the facility detected elevated smoke-related particulate matter. Wood County officials issued a shelter-in-place order for residents within a half-mile of that monitoring location.

The order was lifted July 7 after readings returned to background levels and the fire was extinguished. EPA discontinued the monitoring network July 8 after results throughout the affected area consistently showed no exceedances of health-based standards.

EPA used federal particulate matter standards and Air Quality Index action levels, along with Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds, to evaluate the readings.

Resources

Ponds and Swimming Pool Guidance

Additionally, U.S. EPA has provided the following guidance related to ponds:

  • Removing visible debris from ponds and water troughs before use;
  • Checking basic water quality conditions, such as pH;
  • Ponds are generally expected to stabilize naturally from potential pH changes caused by ash and aeration may help speed that process;
  • Pumps and aeration systems should also be checked to ensure they are working properly.

For swimming pools, EPA recommends:

  • Checking chlorine and pH levels and removing visible ash by skimming or vacuuming;
  • Larger amounts of ash may clog filters, and pools with significant ash accumulation may need to be drained and cleaned.

Water and Soil Sampling

WVDEP has collected water samples from the Little Kanawha River and soil samples from the site to evaluate potential impacts from the fire, firefighting runoff, and remediation activities. The agency analyzed the samples for over 90 different parameters, including volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) and metals. These parameters are commonly evaluated following structure fires and can be associated with plastics, resins, building materials, and combustion byproducts.

Low concentrations of several compounds associated with plastics, resins, rubber materials, wood products, and the combustion of those materials were detected in some samples. Their presence at low concentrations following a warehouse fire of this nature is not unexpected. Detecting a compound does not necessarily mean it is present at a harmful level—the concentration is what matters.

Water quality standards are science-based limits developed to help protect people, aquatic life, and the many ways rivers and streams are used, such as recreation and as sources of drinking water. Soil results are compared with risk-based levels used to determine whether the amount of a substance present may require additional action. Preliminary and confirmatory laboratory results received to date have not identified concentrations warranting additional response actions or protective measures beyond the ongoing cleanup, monitoring, and remediation.

WVDEP will continue collecting and evaluating samples, reviewing laboratory results as they become available, and determining whether any additional response actions are necessary. Additional sampling results will be posted as they become available.

No fish kills associated with the incident have been reported.

Resources

Materials and Safety Data Sheets

Safety Data Sheets, or SDSs, are manufacturer documents that provide information about a product's properties, potential hazards, safe handling and storage, emergency response measures, and other health, safety and environmental information. SDSs describe hazards that could occur under various conditions and should not be interpreted as evidence that every listed hazard occurred during this incident or that the public was exposed to a substance at a harmful level.

The responsible party provided WVDEP with an inventory identifying the SDSs associated with materials stored at the facility and the estimated percentage of each material destroyed by the fire. The three largest categories of material reported destroyed accounted for approximately 57% of the total material loss and consisted of industrial polymers:

  • Styrene-Ethylene/Butylene-Styrene (SEBS) polymer — approximately 29%
  • Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) polymer — approximately 15%
  • Styrene-Isoprene-Styrene (SIS) polymer — approximately 13%

The manufacturers' SDSs do not classify these three products as physical, health or OSHA-defined hazards under normal conditions of use. However, like other plastics and polymers, heating or burning them can produce smoke and combustion products. All three SDSs state that thermal decomposition can produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and/or low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons and that fumes generated by heating may cause irritation.

The responsible party also identified 11 SDSs associated with materials that were present at the facility but were not reported as burned. The WVDEP can provide the SDSs upon request.

Cleanup and Remediation

WVDEP has ordered the responsible party to develop and implement detailed plans and timelines for cleanup and remediation of the site.

Required work includes:

  • Characterizing debris
  • Identifying proper disposal methods
  • Conducting site sampling
  • Evaluating potentially affected areas
  • Addressing contamination above applicable regulatory limits
  • Installing and maintaining runoff controls
  • Completing cleanup work within approved timelines

WVDEP must approve the required plans and continues overseeing cleanup activities at the site. ​

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Report an Emergency

Imminent Danger: 911
Official Emergency Spill Report
1-800-642-3074
Non-Emergency
1-304-926-0499

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