CHARLESTON – As multiple local and state emergency responders work to keep a fire at the Peoples Cartage facility on Camden Avenue contained, a sister facility near the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport was dinged last year by environmental regulators.

According to records in the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection database, the Peoples Cartage Inc. facility at 221 Airport Industrial Park was cited in May 2025 for five violations of sections of the Code of Federal Regulations dealing with the handling of hazardous waste.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Public Information Office noted in an email that while that facility is a registered hazardous waste generator, the Camden Avenue site is not.

“This facility has an EPA identification number due to historical hazardous waste management activities,” the message from the DEP said. “However, the facility formally notified the WVDEP in October 2024 that it is currently not a generator of hazardous waste.”

In an emailed letter to DEP dated May 6, 2025, Total Distribution Inc., the parent company of Peoples Cartage that acquired both the Airport Industrial Park and Camden Avenue facilities in 2024, said it had taken corrective actions.

“Peoples Cartage, Inc. takes the safety of our staff and the health of our environment very seriously,” wrote Senior Director of Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance Joseph DeVirgilio.

The listed infractions included one violation of 262.15, requiring that waste containers be kept in excellent condition, remain securely closed unless in use and be composed of materials compatible with their contents. Inspectors cited Peoples Cartage for having an open container of hazardous waste.

Three violations were for not following CFR 262.16, which mandates strict volume thresholds and time limits for on-site storage, generally restricted to 180 days or 270 days for long-distance transport. The facility was cited for not displaying required labels on containers denoting hazardous waste and for failing to “maintain and operate to minimize the possibility of a fire, explosion, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste …”

DeVirgilio included the same response for the four violations listed above as corrective actions.

“A review of the waste management plan was completed and updated to ensure compliance with applicable regulations,” he wrote. “All staff have been trained on the updated requirements and any deviation from the plan may be subject to disciplinary action.”

The fifth violation was for violating State Code 22-18-8(a), which sets the mandatory permitting process for any individual or entity involved in the management of hazardous waste in West Virginia. Under these regulations, it is illegal to build, operate or shut down a waste facility without prior governmental authorization and a period for public commentary.

State regulators accused the Peoples Cartage Airport Industrial Park site of disposing of hazardous waste without a permit. DeVirgilio provided the same worded corrective action response as the first four violations, with one addendum.

“Additionally, newly constructed waste storage areas have been wired with fire alarms so the notification of any fire related incidents are immediately received,” he wrote.

The same DEP document included an April 22, 2025, letter from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration addressed to the Peoples Cartage Airport Industrial Park facility.

According to the letter, OSHA notified the facility by phone that it had received notice about an alleged workplace hazard for “not providing appropriately-sized personal protection equipment, such as Tyvek suits, for handling chlorine tablets.” The company was given until April 29, 2025, to provide OSHA with the results of its investigation, including corrective actions.

“We have not determined whether the hazards, as alleged, exist at your workplace and we do not intend to conduct an inspection at this time,” according to the letter. “However, since allegations of violations and/or hazards have been made, we request that you immediately investigate the alleged conditions and make necessary corrections or modifications.”

In a Dec. 15, 2025, document, DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management issued a consent order for the Peoples Cartage Airport Industrial Park site following multiple fires involving calcium hypochlorite hazardous waste at the facility prior to Total Distribution’s acquisition of the site previously owned by REO Processing West Virginia.

According to the report, there was a fire at the facility on July 4, 2020, involving containers of calcium hypochlorite, a granular chlorine compound used with swimming pools and municipal water disinfectant. Following that fire, the containers were moved outside and placed under a canopy, where another fire occurred involving the same substance. Those fires resulted in DEP issuing a consent order with REO Processing.

After the Airport Industrial Park site was acquired by Peoples Cartage/Total Distribution in 2024, a fire was reported to the DEP Spill Hotline on March 16, 2025, resulting in an inspection by DEP the following day, acknowledging there had been a fire in a hazardous waste storage building involving calcium hypochlorite.

DEP received another report of a calcium hypochlorite fire at the Airport Industrial Park site on June 4, resulting in another inspection the following day.

“The facility reported that an unknown amount of calcium hypochlorite had been released into the atmosphere due to a fire igniting in a storage building,” according to the DEP report. “The cause of the fire was believed to be attributed to a chemical reaction occurring in the ‘floor sweep’ buckets. The facility further stated that it was unknown which contaminant of the ‘floor sweep’ material had caused the chemical reaction and the resulting fire.”

As a result of these safety and environmental breaches, the company was assessed a civil administrative penalty of $46,380. The company agreed to a plan of corrective action, involving upgrading storage infrastructure with poured concrete and implementing thermal scanning to monitor for dangerous heat levels to ensure future compliance with the Hazardous Waste Management Act.

The warehouse fire at the Peoples Cartage facility on Camden Avenue is contained after covering the facility in fire and thick black smoke beginning Sunday afternoon after a smaller fire occurred at the facility on Saturday. According to officials, the facility was storing raw plastics materials. DEP is conducting air monitoring at the site while first responders from around the state assist in knocking down parts of the facility to get douse hotspots.

Total Distribution provided an updated public statement Monday evening. Answers to questions about the violations and consent decree at the Airport Industrial Park facility were not immediately available.

“On Saturday, July 4, a fire occurred at Peoples Cartage’s Camden Avenue warehouse campus in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The fire was quickly contained and extinguished by our fire suppression systems and the local fire department. A stringent fire watch was maintained throughout the day and overnight. Unfortunately, early Sunday, July 5, the fire reignited, resulting in significant damage, the full extent of which has not yet been assessed,” the statement reads.

“We are extremely grateful that no injuries have been sustained by any employees or other individuals on site. Peoples Cartage is cooperating fully with emergency responders and government agencies, supporting containment efforts, and assessing the damage. The site of the fire remains an active scene and the area has been secured. Environmental and safety officials are on-site to safeguard the health and safety of emergency responders and the community at large. The safety of our employees, customers, neighbors, community and the public remains our highest priority.

“Peoples Cartage is deeply appreciative of the Wood County Fire Department(s), the surrounding area emergency responders, and all the authorities who have worked tirelessly to manage this situation. We are supporting them in every way possible. We are also truly moved by the overwhelming generosity of the community – the donations of food and water for the firefighters on scene have been a powerful reminder of what makes the Parkersburg community special.

“Given that this remains an active scene, internal and external assessments of possible causes have yet to be conducted. We are committed to fully cooperating with the relevant authorities, and we will provide additional updates as new information becomes available,” the statement concludes.

According to Total Distribution’s website, Peoples Cartage also owns a facility on Rosemar Road in Vienna. Total Distribution owns two facilities in Nitro in Kanawha County; and two facilities in Cabell County, one in Huntington and one in Kenova.

City Editor Evan Bevins contributed to this story.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.