NORTHAMPTON BOROUGH, Pa. — A recycling plant blaze was contained but still burning Tuesday afternoon, and first responders fighting it still have hours of work to extinguish it, officials said.
Around 5:30 a.m., a call to Northampton County 911 reported a fire at 799 Smith Lane, in a more than 45,000-square-foot recycling complex owned by Waste Management.
It was occupied and operating when the fire broke out, Northampton Borough Fire Chief Keith Knoblach said, but no one was injured.
The building’s bunker-like concrete walls and steel roof meant flames could not easily spread to other nearby structures. However, the facility is full of plastic, cardboard, paper and other materials Waste Management recycles there.
Firefighters are not yet sure exactly how much of that material is still burning.
“Until we actually get the roof off, we can't pinpoint exactly if there's any active flames at this time..."Northampton Borough Fire Chief Keith Knoblach
“This is going to be a deep-seated fire,” Knoblach said. “Until we actually get the roof off, we can't pinpoint exactly if there's any active flames at this time, but given the smoke that's coming off it, I'm going to say there is — it's just underneath.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, first responders were working to peel off the building’s roof, allowing better access without the risk of sending in firefighters. Once the roof is removed, ladder trucks will have a clear shot to spray water on the burning material inside.
Extinguishing it completely could take well into Tuesday night or longer, Knoblach said.
Region-wide effort
Fighting the fire has been a region-wide effort. Along with Northampton Borough’s fire department, other fire companies from Northampton, Lehigh and Carbon counties provided personnel and helped to shuttle water to Smith Lane.
“They gave us the all-clear as far as the air quality."Northampton Borough Fire Chief Keith Knoblach
The Lehigh County hazmat team monitored air quality at the site and at two nearby schools: Northampton Area High School and Northampton Area Middle School. After their tests showed no reason for concern, most of the hazmat team left the scene by Tuesday afternoon.
“They gave us the all-clear as far as the air quality,” Knoblach said. “They didn't come up with anything that was of danger to the public.”
Operations at the two schools, each about a quarter-mile from the burning building, were not affected.
Firefighters do not yet know what started the blaze. Once the smoke clears, an investigator from Pennsylvania State Police Troop M will begin looking for the cause of the fire, officials said.
“WM is thankful that all of the members of our recycling facility team are safe following this morning’s fire, and we are grateful for the quick and professional work of the firefighters and other first responders,” a representative for the company wrote in a statement Tuesday.
“Our teams will be assessing the effects on the facility and service, and we are cooperating with officials as they investigate.”
Despite the industrial buildings in Northampton Borough, major fires like Tuesday's are a rarity, said Mayor Tony Pristash.
Several streets near the fire will remain closed into Tuesday evening, including all of Clearsprings Drive and parts of Lerchenmuller Drive and Horwith Drive.
