HILLSBOROUGH: Feb. 11 blaze firefighters asked to test blood, urine 

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Hillsborough firefighters who fought the Feb. 11-12 industrial park fire have been asked to voluntarily have their blood and urine tested.
Fire Commissioner Charles Nuara said the move is strictly a “safety precaution” and there is no reason to believe the 100 or so firefighters were exposed to any long-lasting health effects from breathing air or skin exposure from the massive blaze.
The fire destroyed an estimated 250,000 square feet of Veterans Park industrial warehouse space owned by the federal government and leased to private companies.
The tests are not mandatory, Mr. Nuara said, and would only be used to create a baseline personal health history, “so later on, God forbid, if anything did happen,” he said, there would be a baseline of health information.
The fire commission decided in April to pay for the tests out of its budget. Fire Commissioner Bruce Vatter said testing at the Route 206 firehouse on Saturday drew 41 firefighters. Samples may also be given on May 19. Firefighters could also schedule tests themselves at a North Brunswick lab, he said.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t advised to take the health tests, said Mr. Nuara. The tests are being suggested “just to be on the safe side,” he said.
Mr. Vatter said the 24-36 hours of duration, the fire’s intensity and the cold and windy conditions made this an extraordinary fire. It has been called the biggest in township history.
Chief Fire Marshal Christopher Weniger said the idea was adopted because several firefighters asked for it. Mr. Vatter said he knew of one person who signed a decline form and one person who who chose not to be tested and not sign the form.
The fire broke out in the afternoon of Feb. 11 and burned ferociously through the night. Some firefighters spent 20 hours at the fire scene, Mr. Nuara said. A total of 93 fire companies from six counties rallied to help fight the fire and transport water to the scene.
For decades, the Veterans Industrial Park off Route 206 in northern Hillsborough was home to a federal military depot that at one time housed mercury in drums.
The mercury was removed and has been completely gone since 2010, township officials said during the fire and repeatedly since then.
The fire was described to have consumed thousands of pounds of plastic pellets used to fabricate a number of products.
Mr. Weniger said the commission gave a list of known materials in the buildings to the doctors, so they could devise theparameters of the blood test.
He agreed there was an “enormous amount of plastic” that burned those days, but it was not known to be harmful. Then again, “nothing that burns is good for you and there is no such thing as nontoxic smoke,” he said.
Mr. Nuara said that in any fire, turnout coats and other gear is thoroughly washed to remove any residue of any kind. The firehouses have oversized quality washing machines to handle the task, he said.
Mr. Weniger said he had not heard anything about a summary report from the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency.