Arson suspected in fire at east Mecklenburg County flea market

Firefighters and federal health officials worked together Wednesday night to make sure a fire at a building containing toxic materials did not spread to nearby Mint Hill homeowners.

As Mint Hill firefighters battled the blaze off Albemarle Road, the EPA was on hand to make sure potentially deadly chemicals did not leak into the county's storm water drains.

The building is a former dry cleaners and is registered as a federal Superfund site, which means it's contaminated with hazardous waste.

The building is currently used as a weekend flea market.

"It's in the ground, so runoff is a concern for us," said Mint Hill Fire Chief Jeremy Russell.

As Mint Hill firefighters responded to the fire, they called Mecklenburg County health officials, who in turn notified the federal government.

As firefighters fought the blaze with water, the EPA took chemical samples to see the level of contamination.

"There is no contamination on the surface, but we are making sure that the water does not run into a storm drain, which can transport it off site," said Don Ceccarelli, a Water Quality Manager with the county's Storm Water Services.

Firefighters said the chemicals did not spread off-site. The government said thousands of families live near the building.

"Everything's fine. There's no need to take any more precautions than you would normally," said Chief Russell.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said the fire was intentionally set. Four teens were taken into police custody for questioning Wednesday night, but they haven't been charged with a crime.

Several witnesses who pulled off Albermarle Road to help said they saw the building's owner chase after the teens with a gun.

"To chase kids with guns, I don't know if that was the right thing to do. But, you know, there's no telling what was going through his head at the time," said witness Ryan Morrissett.

There are signs posted on the property indicating that cameras were being used, but police have not yet been inside the building to see if that's actually true.

Storm Water Services and the EPA told Eyewitness News they will continue to monitor the site to make sure the contamination doesn't spread in the future.

Eyewitness News checked the EPA's website, and discovered that there's just one other Superfund site in Mecklenburg County--the former Sodyeco chemical dye plant, located just to the west of Charlotte's city limits.