DEP Report: Parkersburg plant had prior fire containment issues

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WCHS) — Records show containment issues predated a massive warehouse fire in Wood County, West Virginia.

The facility, formerly REO Processing West Virginia, is now Peoples Cartage. The company states it acquired the operation in September 2024, although the regulatory responsible-party name was not updated until May 2025.

County commissioners say they’ve learned to deal with disasters like this, including the Ames plant fire in 2017.

“They can shed light on what, to answer that to other people too,” said Jimmy Colombo, a county commissioner and former mayor in Parkersburg. “We are very interested in the health and well-being of our community just as you are and it’s a major concern for us that we do follow through what we’re supposed to be doing too.”

According to documents from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the company, the buildings and others under their umbrella have had several issues over the last half-decade plus.

In June of 2025, the state spill hotline got a call about a fire at the facility that involved the combustion of calcium hypochlorite hazardous waste, which is often called Cal Hypo for short.

That’s a powerful and unstable solid chlorine that’s commonly used to sanitize swimming pools and clear bacteria.

This underlying issue led to the West Virginia DEP inspecting the facility. They found an accumulation of Cal Hypo in floor sweepings.

The agency said the company failed to minimize the possibility of fire, explosion or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste or waste constituents to the environment.

Last September, Peoples Cartage submitted a plan of corrective action that outlined how and when they would become compliant with all the issues.