SAVANNAH, Ga. — Firefighters battled a giant blaze fueled by tons of rubber Saturday at the Port of Savannah, where a towering column of black smoke could be seen from miles away.
By late Saturday, the fire department said its crews had contained the fire, but it could take a while for the flames to burn out inside a warehouse covering 226,000 square feet at the port’s Ocean Terminal just west of downtown Savannah.
Savannah Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Mark Keller said firefighters were surrounding the warehouse with hoses on three sides and using industrial pumps to suck water from the Savannah River and blast it through water cannons. Crews will continue soaking Sunday if necessary.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, but all port workers were accounted for and unharmed.
Savannah-Chatham County police closed some streets near the port terminal and smoke slowed traffic on the Talmadge Bridge that spans the Savannah River to South Carolina. Police also asked a few hotels near the port terminal and the Savannah College of Art and Design to either evacuate or keep people inside.
A spokesman for the Georgia Ports Authority said the burning area contained about 5,600 tons of imported raw rubber.
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