Thorne Bay Old Fire Hall

Site Narrative

• Requested by the City of Thorne Bay

In 2010, the City of Thorne Bay requested an assessment of the Thorne Bay Old Fire Hall, which is now abandoned in a central area of town. The old fire hall is contaminated with cement asbestos siding, and an asbestos evaluation report has already been completed. Their request is for a Property Assessment and Cleanup Plan (PACP) with a site visit to evaluate potential contamination from past fuel handling and vehicle maintenance operations, and to lay out options for cleanup and reuse. The City is interested in reusing this site for an expansion of the neighboring Pearl Nelson Community Park and construction of a covered gazebo or band shell for public use and community events.

Thorne Bay was historically the largest logging camp in North America. When the Ketchikan Pulp Company ceased major operations in Thorne Bay in the late 1990s, the community saw an immediate 30-percent loss of employment and residency.

The Thorne Bay Old Fire Hall was constructed in the 1970s for the Thorne Bay volunteer firefighting squad. The City constructed its newer “Roth Building” in 1991 to house both the Emergency Medical Service and firefighting operations and decommissioned the use of the old fire hall as a municipal building. Currently, City staff utilizes the building to store sand for winter road maintenance activities.

Previous investigations have determined that the Thorne Bay Old Fire Hall contains asbestos siding on the exterior of the building. Other environmental hazards could include soil contamination from the previous storage and maintenance of vehicles and equipment. According to the final PACP report, the following potential source areas were identified: exterior cement siding and paint containing asbestos; potential fuel-contaminated soil around the location of the former aboveground fuel storage tank on the southwest side of the building; past vehicle maintenance poses the potential for petroleum hydrocarbon and chlorinated solvent contamination; and, because of the age of the building, the paint may contain lead.

In 2020, the City of Thorne Bay applied for and was awarded DBAC services to provide additional site characterization activities at the property. Assessment activities were conducted during in June 2021.

Project Documents

Primary Document: Property Assessment and Cleanup Plan, Old Fire Hall