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Pocono News Section
Massive Junkyard Fire Under Control
Massive Junkyard Fire Under Control - Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 6:20PM EST
Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Saturday, Aug 9, 2008 @ 06:20pm EST
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY- Smoke filled the sky for miles around -- and the sound of exploding car parts - rang through the air like gun fire. A Northampton County recycling plant burst into flames this morning.
The fire is still burning but word is the firefighters now have the flames under control.
The fire was declared under control late Saturday afternoon, but the problem is that underneath tons and tons of rubble - old crushed cars - there are several small fires that firefighters say they just can't get to.
Billowing smoke is also a big problem and on top of that they're having a water issue. They had to pump in hundreds of thousands of gallons because the hydrant is more than a mile away. Kurt Fauerbach of Northampton County Emergency Management said, "They're having to move water out of quarry's and ponds and things like that."
Firefighters got the call to check on RPM Recycling at about 9:30 Saturday morning. The caller said someone should check on smoke coming from the place in Wind Gap. By the time firefighters got there -- just seven minutes later - the place had burst into flames.
People from miles around heard it. Lauren Nywening said, "We heard lots of popping noises - like it was a gunfight from the tires exploding."
Piles of crushed and shredded cars melted -- and sent a plume of smoke that people could smell two towns over. "It smelled really bad and there was lots of black smoke everywhere so it was hard to see," said Nywening.
It was especially hard for firefighters to see. So they called in back up, and then more back up. Almost 15 fire companies and nearly 80 firefighters worked together to get the flames under control.
Even though it looks like there's just smoke now - there are several small fires burning under the rubble.
Firefighters brought in machines to move some of the mess so they could get to the rest of the flames. It could take them several days to finish the job.
The Department of Environmental Protection is monitoring air quality in Wind Gap, Pen Argyl and surrounding areas. They say so far - the air is safe to breathe.
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