Bruning said inspectors have not completed their evaluation of the bridge, but their preliminary observations revealed the northbound side of the highway suffered much less damage than the southbound side.
The goal, Bruning said, is currently to inspect the northbound side first in the hopes it will be able to re-open sooner, but the southbound side will remain closed for an indeterminate amount of time.
On the southbound side, at least three steel beams need replacing, then a new bridge deck will need to be poured and a sign truss that was damaged will need replacing, Bruning said.
Bruning said he couldn’t give a timeline for when those repairs would be completed, “but it will not be days.”
Assistant Fire Chief Matt Flagler said at around 3:30 a.m. fire crews were dispatched to multiple locations, both on and below the I-471 bridge. Some 911 calls came in reporting a car fire, other reports said an outdoor fire, Flagler said.
CPD officers said earlier in the morning they had received reports of a vehicle fire, but Flagler said that wasn’t the case.
When fire crews got there, they found the playground at Sawyer Point Park in flames. Flagler said they do not know what started the fire and it remains under investigation.
“When we got down here, the park underneath the bridge was completely engulfed,” said CPD Lieutenant Patrick Caton. “Flames were reaching up over the front of the park, up over the bridge and it was, it was actually doing damage to the bridge.”
The fire at the park quickly grew and, because of the volume of the blaze, multiple fire crews were called in to fight it.
“That playground was heavily involved in fire and the fire actually transmitted to the bridge structure of the I-471 bridge,” said Assistant Fire Chief Matt Flagler. “There’s some netting and some equipment underneath that bridge that also caught fire.”
During the 11 a.m. press conference, Cincinnati Fire Chief Frank McKinley said the fire burned very hot, in part because there were several fuel sources burning. Materials in the playground, including wood, rubber and plastic, contributed to how hot it burned, he said.
“The fire was a very large fire that put out a lot of BTUs because of the source and the fuel that was involved in it,” said McKinley. “It created a large heat that compromised some of the integrity of the structure, so we have our partners here working with us to determine safety issues concerning the bridge.”
That heat is what caused the bridge itself to start burning, according to Flagler.
The fire has currently been contained, according to CFD. Caton said parts of it are still smoldering, however. At around 8:15 a.m. flames could again be seen under the bridge. At the 11 a.m. press conference, McKinley said firefighters remain on the scene in case of other flare-ups.
Flagler said the fire at the playground was extinguished fairly quickly, but the fire that spread to the bridge is complex and “has done some damage to the structural steel that’s on that bridge.”
KYTC and ODOT were on scene and bridge inspectors at the bridge to begin examining it after the fire was fully extinguished.
About the Author