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More than seven months after fire destroyed the northern half of a massive warehouse at Georgia Ports Authority’s Ocean Terminal, a new structure is beginning to rise in its place.
Evans General Contractors was the low bidder on the project and has told GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz the project should be completed before the first of the year.
“The new building will be a mirror image of the old warehouse,” Foltz said, adding the warehouse can’t be finished soon enough.
“We have a tremendous amount of business moving through Ocean Terminal,” he said. “We’ve been working around it since the fire, but it will be good to have that space back.”
Warehouse No. 3 contained approximately 1,800 tons of crude rubber valued at just under $2 million when it went up in flames, sending huge plumes of black smoke more than a mile into the midday sky on Feb. 8.
Multiple emergency response agencies and disaster remediation organizations worked together with GPA personnel throughout the weekend to extinguish the fire, secure the site and begin the massive clean-up effort.
Jamie McCurry, director of administration and governmental affairs at the ports, said costs associated with the clean-up will be reimbursed by GPA’s insurance carriers.
Estimated costs include approximately $300,000 to the Savannah Fire Department, $11.5 million for site remediation, debris removal, temporary leased facilities and other clean-up efforts, as well as up to $8.5 million to replace the destroyed portion of the building.
An investigation into the cause of the blaze is still ongoing, with the Savannah field office of the federal Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the lead.
“The last conversation I had with ATF, they were still running tests and evaluating potential causes,” Foltz said, adding that he understood ATF was called in because the fire occurred on government property and involved a product of international trade.
The destroyed rubber most likely came from Southeast Asia and was destined for one of the
many tire manufacturers in the Southeast, he said.
At the ATF’s Savannah field office, resident agent in charge David Kamentz said Thursday the investigation remains active, with his agents pursuing several avenues locally as well as utilizing the ATF Fire Research Lab in Maryland, the world’s largest research laboratory dedicated to fire scene investigations.
There, ATF scientists are attempting to recreate the port fire in an effort to determine how it might have started.
Asked if arson had been ruled out, Kamentz said no.
“At this point, nothing if off the table,” he said, adding that there is no way to know when the investigation will be complete.
Jeff Jepson, executive vice president of Evans General Contractors, said construction is on schedule, with the first bay of the south side of the building already rebuilt.
“Although that’s the end of the building that escaped major structural damage, we still needed to replace part of the roof, remove and reposition a firewall and demolish a 5,000-square-foot office,” he said.
Evans now has all exterior block walls rebuilt and expects to begin putting up the steel portion of the building around the first of October.
If all goes as scheduled, the $6 million job should wrap up the third week in December, Jepson said.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GCT and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT MSC SHAULA Today
GCT MSC ILONA Today
GCT MAERSK CAROLINA Today
GCT HS BRUCKNER Today
GCT MOL MAESTRO Today
GCT SANTA REGINA Today
GCT MSC BRUXELLES Today
OT WHITE FIN Today
OT GRANDE CONGO Today
OT NONA BULKER Today
GCT HS LIVINGSTONE Saturday
GCT DUBAI EXPRESS Saturday
GCT MAERSK IDAHO Saturday
GCT MAERSK MEMPHIS Saturday
GCT NYK CONSTELLATION Saturday
GCT XIN TAI CANG Saturday
GCT OOCL SEOUL Saturday
GCT HALIFAX EXPRESS Saturday
GCT ST LOUIS EXPRESS Saturday
GCT PETROCHEM TRADER Sunday
GCT EVER LIVEN Sunday
GCT CAPE MELVILLE Sunday
OT TAMESIS Sunday
OT TARAGO Sunday
OT TANIKAZE Sunday
GCT APL PEARL Monday
GCT CMA CGM BIANCA Monday
GCT WEHR OSTE Monday
GCT SUDAIR Monday
GCT HYUNDAI GLORY Monday
GCT MSC MICHAELA Tuesday
GCT APL GARNET Tuesday
GCT NYK DELPHINUS Tuesday
GCT ISLANDIA Wednesday
GCT ZIM RIO GRANDE Wednesday
GCT NORTHERN DEXTERITY Wednesday
GCT CSL MANHATTAN Wednesday
GCT VENICE BRIDGE Wednesday
GCT HANJIN KINGSTON Wednesday
GCT MSC ARUSHI R. Thursday
GCT ZIM SAVANNAH Thursday
GCT MSC JOANNA Thursday
GCT MAERSK WILMINGTON Thursday
GCT NYK METEOR Thursday