When a massive Sherwin-Williams warehouse blaze threatened the area’s drinking water in 1987

Here are three things to know about 1987 event:

A spectacular fire. Dayton fire officials made the decision to let it burn unchecked for almost a week because they believed pouring millions of gallons of water onto the flames would cause well field contamination, as the water carried chemicals into the aquifer.

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Credit: Bill Garlow

Credit: Bill Garlow

Hazards consumed. More than 1.5 million gallons of paints and solvents were incinerated during the six-day fire, which destroyed the warehouse.

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Credit: Eddie Roberts

Credit: Eddie Roberts

A costly cleanup. In 1991, Dayton sued Sherwin-Williams for some of the city's costs associated with the fire. After first countersuing for $1 million, Sherwin-Williams agreed to pay $900,000 of the $1.4 million the city had asked for. That settlement was in addition to the $8.2 million Sherwin-Williams has spent on the cleanup effort.

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