A fire at the Wood County People’s Cartage industrial storage facility Sunday prompted Gov. Patrick Morrisey to declare a State of Emergency as a plume of black smoke visible on weather radar emanated from the site.
Monday afternoon, Morrisey said a shelter in place order would be maintained for the area immediately surrounding the fire.
“Wood County officials have issued a shelter-in-place order for residents within a one-half-mile radius of an air monitoring location north of the facility after elevated levels of smoke-related particulate matter were detected,” a statement from the governor’s office said. “Residents in the affected area should follow the guidance of local emergency management officials until the order is lifted.”
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection officials were called to the facility in Parkersburg in March and again in June of 2025 to respond to hazardous waste fires.
According to DEP documents, both of the 2025 fires originated in People’s Cartage, Inc.’s storage for waste calcium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleaching powder. While not combustible, calcium hypochlorite is a strong oxidizer that can intensify fires.
An investigation found that the facility disposed of hazardous waste without a permit and failed to minimize the possibility of fire. The company was also cited for hazardous waste containers that were open when not in use, as well as a lack of proper labeling for hazardous waste containers and the date when they started accumulating waste.
The facility had previously been cited for a similar pair of fires in July 2020.
In February, People’s Cartage entered into an order for compliance with the DEP that included a financial penalty of more than $46,000. An inspection a month later in March found that some containers were still not properly labeled with start dates or the hazardous contents of the containers.
Additionally, inspectors noted some storage areas where moisture was collecting on the floor. Calcium hypochlorite can react with water to create chlorine gas, and it is considered a strong pollutant if introduced into waterways.
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