Fire chief details underground fire, response and monitoring at Williamsburg Premium Outlets parking lot
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Summary
James City County Fire Chief briefed the Board on an underground fire beneath a pervious‑concrete parking area at the Williamsburg Premium Outlets. Crews contained burning plastic within a stormwater detention system; air monitoring by VDEM, DEQ and EPA found contaminant levels below permissible thresholds. An after‑action report and reconstruction planning are underway.
Williamsburg — James City County Fire Chief reported to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 3 that crews responded Nov. 23 to smoke and repeated collapses in the parking lot at the Williamsburg Premium Outlets and found an underground fire in a stormwater detention facility.
Chief Ash said initial responders observed smoke emerging from vents and sinkholes across the parking surface and determined the burned structure was a pervious‑concrete parking surface over a detention basin built with plastic crates and gravel. Fire crews and county stormwater staff used plans to locate the burning material beneath the surface and attempted repeated water applications and remote nozzles to extinguish the fire.
The chief said crews flowed very large volumes of water on site over multiple days — an initial estimate of about 1.5 million gallons and later an approximation closer to 2 million gallons — and that heavy equipment and specialized ventilation were needed to reach burning pockets safely after portions of the parking surface collapsed. Contractors familiar with the facility, regional hazmat teams and multiple partner agencies assisted in the response.
State and federal environmental agencies were engaged early in the incident. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) conducted air and runoff monitoring; on VDEM’s request the EPA sent a sampling team. The chief told the board that air‑monitoring results reported for carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride and other chemicals associated with burning plastics were below permissible levels during the sampling period; no residential evacuations were ordered based on those monitored levels.
Chief Ash said responding crews prioritized firefighter and operator safety given unstable ground and unknown thermal loads beneath the surface. He described using remote nozzles, borrowed large track‑mounted fans to ventilate work zones, and staging excavators to allow ladder‑truck streams to reach burning material once it was exposed. The chief said the incident required extended operations over several days and credited regional partners for technical support.
Board members asked whether the detention system will be rebuilt using different materials. The chief said stormwater and resource protection staff and the property owners are discussing options — including surface ponds, alternative proprietary systems or concrete — while portable pumps remain in place to manage runoff until a permanent repair is completed. He said the department will prepare an after‑action report with lessons learned to share with other jurisdictions.
The board thanked the fire department and partner agencies for the response during a peak retail period and for the engagement of environmental monitors to inform public‑safety decisions.
