1425 Cowan Court - At approximately 12:10PM, an employee of the Advanced Plating company arrived to find smoke coming from the building. There were no employees inside since they had all gone home for the day about 10 minutes earlier. 911 was called and the Nashville Fire Department was dispatched.

First arriving units were from Station 2 just across the Cumberland River. A fire was confirmed and additional resources were requested.

Firefighters learned that there were numerous hazardous chemicals located inside the building which would hamper suppression efforts.

The chemicals and equipment in this facility are used in a process called Electroplating, which can put a chrome, nickel, copper, or gold finish on metals. This facility also has its own on-site waste treatment system to manage these chemicals and the contaminants left in them during the manufacturing process.

Assistant Fire Chief Hoover responded to the scene and assumed command of the incident.

The 3rd alarm was transmitted for manpower and resources. Box 55 Rehab was on scene to provide refreshments. Medic-9 and Medic-11 were on scene for standby.

Many, if not all, of the polypropylene tanks containing the chemicals failed in the fire and the chemicals could be seen pouring out of the building into runoff areas.

A neighboring construction materials company provided assistance by forming burms of silt and stone to help stop the flow of runoff into the River.

The US Coast Guard broadcast an advisory closing the Cumberland River to all watercraft due to the smoke and potential for runoff of hazardous chemicals.

The main body of fire was knocked down and the incident declared under control, however several areas were left to burn due to the risk of applying too much water and causing further chemical runoff.

The building had already been declared a total loss. After nearly six hours of working to control the blaze and the spread of chemicals, units were able to decontaminate, pick up, and return to service.