New details are emerging about the warehouse fire in Gorham last Saturday night, as officials say the facility had already been under scrutiny for months over safety violations.
At a Thursday news conference, it was revealed that, according to filings with the town, Eco Operations and its owner, Eduard Zaydman, of New York City, were approved earlier this year to operate a “de-packaging facility,” which would handle expired beer and hand sanitizer. Containers were to be crushed, with liquids collected for re-purposing and packaging materials baled and sold. However, Gorham’s Code Enforcement Officer had been investigating the site since the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a notice of violations for multiple issues. The inspector ordered the owner to cease operations, and Zaydman agreed.
Despite that, records show the owner submitted a site plan approval to the town in April and appeared before the planning board on May 19. While the board issued no referrals, its chair raised concerns about the storage of flammable liquids.
In the weeks that followed, investigators say the warehouse continued receiving and storing “enormous quantities” of hand sanitizer — a highly flammable material containing ethyl alcohol. On June 24, the code inspector observed the stockpile during a property inspection and notified the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies then served the owner with a notice requiring the immediate and lawful removal of all combustible liquids.
The fire, which broke out on August 30, consumed large amounts of hand sanitizer stored outside the facility and remains under investigation. Agencies assisting include the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, Ontario County Emergency Management, the New York State Office of Fire Protection and Control, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In a related story, state environmental and health officials are warning the public to avoid Flint Creek downstream of Dewey Avenue after reports of several hundred dead fish were discovered in the waterway.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), working with the state Department of Health, announced the advisory on Wednesday as part of its ongoing response to the August 30 fire at the Eco Operations facility in Gorham.
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