Logistec GM updates city on changes since 2021 fire
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By Pamela Permar-Shierling
Logistec General Manager Lin DeLassus updated the Brunswick City Commission Wednesday, Oct. 7 on changes the company has made and continues to make since the fire in 2021.
DeLassus started by saying he wanted to clear up some wrong information and to discuss three issues including the fire, noise in the neighborhood and dust.
“When the building burned in 2021,” he said, “the cargo self heated. The cargo owner came in, lost control of the situation and lost $4 to $5 million of product. Logistec lost a $28 million building.”
“It is only partly true about Logistec not calling the Brunswick Fire Department (BFD). We thought the owner of the cargo had trained people there to handle the fire. We were in contact with BFD throughout the day. However the fire got out of control.”
“In the past we allowed the customer to handle the cargo stored in the building. That is no longer the case,” DeLassus said.
“Working with BFD Chief Tim White and the State Fire Marshall we have overhauled our standard operating procedures. The state conducts audits every six months and makes recommendations. Chief White also checks our procedures and makes recommendations and we follow the state’s and Chief White’s recommendations and have put mitigation processes in place,” DeLassus said.
“I think its important to say that since May 2021, BFD has not been called to our terminal for product that is self heating. We have created an environment that works,” he said.
DeLassus addressed the trucks that park outside the terminal in the state right of way. “We have no control over that but we are trying to help. Our customers have been notified and should not be pulling up at night and sitting there with the truck idling all night. Our terminal opens at 4 a.m. and if they arrive then, they come straight into the terminal.”
Logistec has contacted their customers and asked them to tell their drivers not to park in the neighborhood.
“But there are a large number of owner / operators who do their own thing. If I see someone parked there, I tell them to move,” he said.
“It seems most of the dust problems have increased over the past year but we are not doing business any differently. So we have looked for a reason,” he said.
All the watermains on the terminal have been changed which means 15,000 ft. of trenches have been dug, he said, and earth has been disturbed.
The watermains have been increased in size at the request of the City, he said, to increase water pressure for fire fighting. Georgia Ports Authority owns the terminal and had replaced the watermains.
“This project is coming to a close so we will look at the dust situation after the project is finished to see if the dust problem stops or continues,” he said.
He said when the city’s vacuum truck comes through it creates more problems than helps. Logistec will hire a third party to vacuum the road in front of the terminal until the city can get their vac truck up and running.
Logistec will also pave some of the roads torn up by the trenching for the watermains.
“I believe the dust problem is a combination of things and we are taking steps to fix the problem,” he said.
To wrap up DeLassus said, “Logistec manages the cargo now, not the customer. We have broken the self heating cycle. We monitor the cargo 24 /7 and take temperatures in a grid pattern. If the cargo goes over a certain temperature, it is moved around to reduce the temperature.”
Logistec also follows the strict steps that are in place from the state fire marshall should the cargo temperature escalate.
