Engineers Assault Chemical Plant Fire In Iraq 7/10/2003
Firefighters and U.S. Army engineers were close to declaring victory July 8 over a stubborn fire at a sulfur plant near Mosul, Iraq, that has burned since June 25, spewing toxic fumes that killed two residents of nearby villages and forced the evacuation of the surrounding area.
At the height of the effort at the Misraq State Sulfur Plant, 20 miles south of Mosul, soldiers and engineers from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team and the 326 Engineer Battalion, home based in Ft. Campbell, Ky., and the 938th Fire Fighting Detachment, an Army National Guard unit based in Driggs, Id., were working around the clock alongside 57 Iraqi firefighters and 50 civilian volunteers. They needed 22 bulldozers, 16 dump trucks, five loaders and six scrapers to contain and smother the fire under dirt and foam.