Campus status

• FAQ from Wayne County Emergency Management Agency
• City of Richmond updates
• EPA updates

The following is a message to the campus community from Stacy Lutz Davidson, senior vice president for finance and administration:

Friends,

I am writing with an update regarding the Richmond fire and operations at Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion. I would like to acknowledge that this has been incredibly disruptive to the Earlham community and to our employees and professional partners who live near the site of the fire. We appreciate your patience as we navigate an evolving situation with many unknowns.

Based on the information available at this time, Earlham and ESR will return to normal operations on Monday, April 17 — that includes indoor and outdoor activities.

We have reviewed the most recent EPA findings and guidance from the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency, and considered the infrastructure on campus. To date, no debris has been found on campus. The evacuation site and immediate fire zone are the only places in Richmond where air samples have contained toxic compounds, such as benzenes. Earlham is outside the evacuation zone.

Debris samples have been collected from K-12 schools, daycare centers and city parks in Richmond. Several are in close proximity to or immediately downwind from the fire, and results of those screenings have not been released yet. There is still one hot spot at the fire site that is not completely extinguished. Winds are currently blowing at 20 mph away from campus.

Most Earlham buildings have the most advanced air filtration systems available. Even so, we understand that some may feel safer wearing masks, and we encourage you to do so. If you do not have one, a limited number of masks are available through Student Life. If you are concerned because of asthma or other respiratory vulnerabilities, please reach out to health services. If you are in need of immediate medical assistance, please contact public safety.

Thank you,

Stacy Lutz Davidson
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration

Editor’s note: Richmond Mayor Dave Snow has clarified his comments from Thursday. City officials are now describing the fire as being under control. Smoldering and flare ups are expected for several more days.

Richmond Mayor Dave Snow announced this evening that the large industrial fire one mile northeast of campus has been extinguished. The city’s efforts will now focus on collecting air and water samples to determine when the city’s evacuation order can be lifted, the mayor said.

Earlham remains outside of the evacuation zone and is not in imminent danger from the fire. However, we are being cautious in our response as changing wind patterns could cause air conditions to change overnight. As announced earlier this evening, the College will continue virtual work, learning and meetings on Friday, April 14. This applies to labs and other in-person learning experiences.

The following is an email from Bonita Washington-Lacey, vice president of Student Life and dean of students.

Good evening,

 I am writing with an update on the fire in Richmond and its effect on the College.

A forecasted shift in the wind direction this evening could cause air conditions to change overnight. While Earlham College and ESR will not experience direct smoke from the fire scene, we could see more particulate matter than we have been seeing. Indiana Department of Environmental Management has extended its Air Quality Action Day to Friday in Wayne County. Additionally, air sampling conducted by Earlham professor Jaime Coon and her students in ENSU 151: Environment, Science, and Sustainability classhas shown a slight uptick today in particulate matter in the air on campus. You can read more on those findings here.

With that in mind, Earlham College will continue virtual work, learning and meetings on Friday, April 14. This applies to labs and other in-person learning experiences.

For Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all outdoor events are suspended; all indoor events, including performances planned for the weekend, will be rescheduled for a time when we have more confidence that the burn will have ended.

We have received countless calls from students’ families asking us to exercise an abundance of caution during this time. We understand the inconvenience this causes to living, learning and teaching at Earlham. None of us could have predicted this fire or the impact it would have on our community. We appreciate your patience and grace. Please know that we are making decisions based on the best available information.  If you are concerned about air quality, we encourage you to use an N-95 mask.

According to Richmond Fire Department, the fire is currently 90% extinguished. It is their hope to have the fire 98%-99% extinguished tonight or early tomorrow. We continue to monitor the situation.

The following is a message to the campus community from Stacy Lutz Davidson, senior vice president for finance and administration:

Friends,

We continue to monitor the fire in Richmond, and out of an abundance of caution, Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion will shift to virtual work, learning and meetings tomorrow, April 13. Outdoor activities will continue to be suspended.

As we have mentioned in earlier messages, we are seeing conflicting — and in some cases inaccurate or misleading — reports about this fire on social media and mainstream news media. I asked Earlham’s own Mike Deibel — a longtime professor of chemistry and pre-health adviser whose research focuses on lead contamination in the environment — to help us understand what the EPA is testing for and to provide a scientifically informed perspective on recent media reports. Here is what he had to say:

“It is important to note that there is currently no evidence of any change in the air quality on campus. The fire is occurring at a location that is 1.1 miles to the northeast of the campus and the winds have been blowing to the northeast, carrying the smoke away from the direction of the campus toward western Ohio.

Our campus is outside of the 0.5-mile evacuation zone and is upwind from any of the smoke. The EPA is on the ground and has been monitoring the air for products of combustion since approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 12. For accurate and up-to-date information about these EPA tests, click here.

Currently, the EPA has only identified particulates in the smoke, but is monitoring for other potential harmful substances that might be present in the smoke plume from the combustion of the plastics on site. 

According to EPA’s update to Western Wayne News (1:15 p.m. Wednesday), they are not seeing “readings of dangerous agents such as stryzene and benzene that would be expected from plastics.” While news reporters and social media have used words such as “toxic” in their reports, the most critical concept in toxicity is the amount of a harmful substance that one is exposed to. Given the wind patterns and location of our campus, there is very minimal risk that particulates and any other substances in the smoke would impact our campus.”

I’d like to thank Mike for this perspective and all members of the Earlham community for your caution and flexibility in this situation.

We continue to follow the guidance of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency. We have not implemented a shelter in place order for campus because of our location and the direction in which the winds are blowing. Should anything change, an update will be sent to the community via email, EC Alerts and on the College’s official social media accounts:

Out of an abundance of caution, Earlham will cancel all outdoor activities today. Wherever possible, teaching faculty and supervisors should plan to hold classes, work and hold meetings virtually today.

To clarify conflicting reports on social media and in the news media: Earlham is not within the 0.5-mile evacuation radius. We are closely monitoring the situation and following the guidance of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency.

We continue to monitor reports of a large industrial fire at 358 N.W. F St., about one mile northeast of campus. We have been in communication with local officials and have been assured that the fire does not pose an immediate threat to campus.

Earlier this evening, The City of Richmond announced that the fire had been contained on three sides. Fire personnel are working to contain the east side of the fire.

Because we have seen a handful of inaccurate news reports, we encourage you to follow Earlham College’s social media accounts for the most current and accurate information. We are receiving guidance from the City of Richmond and the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency.

We continue to monitor reports of a large industrial fire at 358 N.W. F St. We have been in communication with local officials and have been assured that the fire does not pose an immediate threat to campus.

There have been conflicting reports about the fire in the media. We are taking guidance from the City of Richmond and the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency.

The city’s power utility has reported numerous power outages across the city. At this time, power and access to wifi is operational. However, campus systems may experience interruptions throughout the evening.

We continue to monitor reports of a large industrial fire at 358 N.W. F Street. At this time, the fire does not pose an immediate threat to campus.

However, the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency has issued a shelter-in-place order for anyone within a half mile of the fire. Earlham is about one mile south of the fire. A brief power outage on campus has been restored. Wifi access and campus systems have been interrupted.

We are closely monitoring reports of a large fire in the 500 block of North West F Street. The fire is about one mile north of campus. At this time, the fire does not pose an immediate threat to campus that we are aware of.