UPDATE: Probe into warehouse fire's cause will take weeks
WEST EASTON, Pa. — Firefighters battled a massive blaze at a warehouse area in West Easton for more than five hours Tuesday, with multiple explosions heard from the property.
Tuesday afternoon, officials said firefighters would continue work at the site overnight.
But a worst-case scenario appeared to have been avoided, with a 30,000-gallon propane tank nearby emerging unscathed. No injuries were reported.
The fire broke out before 5 a.m. near Main Street and Lehigh Drive, emergency dispatchers said, noting multiple alarms had been struck with more tankers racing to the scene from as far away as lower Bucks County.
- A massive fire broke out early Tuesday in West Easton on Lehigh Drive
- Residents heard multiple explosions from the property
- Smoke could be seen for miles across the area
Incident Command declared the fire under control just after 10:30 a.m., but advised residents to stay out of the area.
Just before noon, fire officials confirmed warehouse tenants used hazardous materials, and some material got into the Lehigh River.
Though officials were unsure exactly what material spilled into the river, West Easton Fire Chief William Bogari Jr. said the spill was "not of concern" later Tuesday afternoon.
Hazmat teams from Lehigh County and the city of Bethlehem responded to the fire, and monitored air and water near the site for contaminants. The Pa. Department of Environmental Protection also dispatched members of an emergency response team to conduct testing.
So far, Bogari said, they've measured no abnormalities in air or water quality.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Pa. DEP spokesperson Colleen Connolly said the Lehigh River spill had been "contained," and that "No hazardous fumes were detected" as a result of the fire.
She said the department's work to monitor the river and to determine what materials were in the building at the time of the fire is continuing.
In a Facebook post, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure thanked the two EMS agencies, 23 fire companies, Northampton Emergency Management/E-911, Lehigh County Hazmat, PADEP Water and Air, PA Fish and Boat and the Lehigh County Strike Team for their response.
But getting enough water was an issue in fighting the blaze. Firefighters have been pulling water out of the Lehigh River and activated a "tender task force," drawing tankers from Lehigh County and from all responding departments from Northampton County and Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Chief Bogari said he couldn’t recall another fire in the borough on the same scale or with the same response.
Northampton County Emergency Management Services said officials were performing local scene monitoring, and the state Department of Environmental Protection is on site to test air quality and water runoff.
A hazmat team also was dispatched to assist with monitoring water, air and hazard identification if required.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was not directly involved in responding to the incident but has been in contact with the state DEP and has offered assistance if needed.
DEP dispatched two emergency response team members to assist Northampton County in the aftermath of the fire, according to DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly.
Officials said they have gotten no readings that will warrant a shelter-in-place or evacuations but advised residents to stay clear of the area. State police's Troop M fire marshal is assisting with the investigation.
Easton Area School District also made calls to parents stating the air and water is safe and there was no district-wide shelter order in place.
There were power outages in the area as grid operators shut down transmission lines near the fire, and RCN advised customers they may experience service disruptions.
"We will work to restore connectivity as quickly as possible. We will keep you updated on our progress," the company said in a tweet.
#LehighValley - We are aware of commercial power outages in the Easton, PA area due to a warehouse fire. Some customers may experience service disruptions and we will work to restore connectivity as quickly as possible. We will keep you updated on our progress.
— Astound powered by RCN (@RCNconnects) April 4, 2023
Explosions heard as fire broke out
Tianna Williams, who lives on Freemansburg Avenue, said she heard three explosions as the fire broke out, and additional explosions were heard just after 6 a.m.
Flames completely engulfed the building and a thick plume of dark smoke could be seen from miles away.
Williams said she was packing to leave her home in case evacuation orders were issued. There was no power in the area, she said.
Andrew McAllister, who lives on Fourth Street in West Easton with his family, said the fire was raging at the end of his block.
"I woke up about maybe 4:30 or 5 a.m. and heard some explosions," McAllister said. "My son heard it, looked out his window and the whole horizon was smoke and glowing orange."
He described the scene as "heavy, heavy manpower" with fire trucks coming in from every direction and said "the smoke is pretty bad."
Eric Gaffney, who also lives on Freemansburg Avenue, said he left work at 4 a.m. and had about a 30-minute drive home to Easton.
"I heard a really loud explosion when I got home and I looked out the window and I saw a big orange cloud of flames and smoke," Gaffney said.
"And then probably every fire truck in Easton was heading that way, and shortly after I heard another three or four smaller explosions and then my power went out."
Gaffney said he drove down the street and "saw an entire building going up in flames."
Company vows to rebuild
The main burning structure was a 900-feet-long, 190,000 square foot stone building with a wooden roof that housed a number of businesses. It has no fire suppression system.
The building's manager said the structure includes Lehigh Structural Products, Sandt's Honey, Lehigh Polymer (a plastics recycler), Xtreme Custom Coatings (a powder coating service), Triumvirate Environmental (a waste management company) and Gladiator Fiber.
Lehigh Structural Products LLC occupied about 30,000 square feet of the warehouse.
The company makes roof and floor trusses used in the construction industry and had machinery and products inside the destroyed building.
Workers who showed up about 5:30 a.m. found the fire already burning but said there were no injuries.
“Our first guy showed up at 5:30 a.m. and he called me right away,” said Dave Tocci, general manager of Lehigh Structural Products LLC.
The owner, Jack Opdyke, said the company had trusses and other inventory outside of the building and much of it was saved. Some of it was untouched and some of it they were able to move with trucks.
Opdyke said Lehigh Structural Products has been at that location for about 10 years.
“Fortunately most of the outdoor storage is still good," he said. "A lot of this stuff we can still ship out."
Opdyke said he wasn’t sure what may have caused the fire or where in the massive building it started.
“I’ll give the fire departments the credit. They did a great job. We could’ve lost all of this,” he said, referring to the outdoor inventory.
West Easton Mayor Dan DePaul said there also was a propane company, Anthem Propane, next to the site with a 30,000-gallon propane tank.
“When I first got the call I thought it was the propane company," DePaul said. "I said, 'Please don’t let it be the propane company.' "
The tank, about 200 yards or so from the giant warehouse, was unscathed in the blaze.
As he stood and watched the building being hosed down, Opdyke vowed to rebuild.
“In this industry it’s a very tight knit community. I already have competitors reaching out to offer help," he said.
Reporter Molly Bilinski contributed to this report
