ROMULUS, N.Y. – Seneca County leaders say a warehouse at the former Seneca Army Depot is packed full of flammable hand sanitizer, prompting code violations to be issued to the tenant. That tenant is the same business owner cited in Gorham, Ontario County where a fire destroyed his building.

“If you drove by it, would you think there’s that massive threat hiding behind those doors? I mean, it’s crazy to think it’s sitting there,” said Michael Enslow, Seneca County Board of Supervisors Chairman.

About two weeks ago, Enslow says the fire coordinator received an anonymous tip about what a tenant was storing inside and outside the warehouse.

The owner of the property gave county leaders permission to inspect the facility. So on Friday, members of the EPA, DEC and county fire coordinators showed up here.

“When you open the door, you could immediately see stacks — 2 to 3 high — at least 2 high — of hand sanitizer,” said Enslow.

Inspectors estimate 180,000 gallons, the equivalent of 36 tractor trailer loads of expired hand sanitizer, being stored on site.

The property was leased to New Age Renewable Energy, owned by Eduard Zaydman. Zaydman is the same man who owned Eco Operations in Gorham, where a massive fire recently leveled a warehouse full of hand sanitizer, leading to contamination of the nearby river.

“We definitely don’t want what happened in Gorham to happen here,” said Enslow.

Zaydman had no permits for the storage of flammable materials in Gorham and had been sued by the town after ignoring demands to clear the site. Enslow says Zaydman didn’t get permits for this warehouse either, and yesterday he was served with 22 code violations by Seneca County Code Enforcement.

“There’s no active fire suppression system, no fire alarm system, the electricity is cut to the building,” said Enslow.

News10NBC reached out to Zaydman’s representative for comment but did not hear back. A coordinator from the EPA says they are working with his people to resolve the issue. Enslow says there’s no time to waste.

“I just hope the system doesn’t move too slow. I’m very concerned about that,” said Enslow.

The owner of the building, Mike Palumbo, says he was unaware what his tenant was storing there until Friday. He says he is working with state and federal regulators to make sure the building is secure and watched and is being kept up to date on the situation.

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