Tanker trucks were used to haul water because the nearest fire hydrant was 2 miles away, the fire chief said. Watch video
As many as 75 firefighters battled Tuesday night's blaze at a recycling facility in Harmony Township, volunteer fire company Chief Wesley Garrison said Wednesday morning.
A township firefighter suffered a knee injury and a firefighter from another department was treated for smoke inhalation, Garrison said. Both were soon released from the hospital, he added.
The pole barn that burned is used to park recycling trucks, Garrison said. Seven of those vehicles and a forklift were inside when the fire started, he said. The trucks were empty, he added.
A few employees were at the facility but the fire quickly grew to the point where they couldn't douse it, Garrison said. The building was engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived, he said.
Sanico Inc., which owns the facility at 5 Hutchinson Station Road, said the fire began not long after power was restored to the facility. Power had been out for some time after a tree fell on wires about a half-mile away, said General Manager James R. Smith.
The facility operates as a recycling center where loads of recycled materials are brought from small collection trucks and consolidated into larger loads in another building, before they're shipped to other markets, Smith said.
Garrison said it took about two hours after the first call at 6:57 p.m. to get the fire under control, then it was a matter of quelling hot spots. Using 10 tankers, firefighters went with the "surround and drown" method of soaking the fire, he said. Firefighters smothered the building in foam once the flames were knocked down, the chief said.
Two other pole barns used for storage are on either side, about 20 to 25 feet from the building that was ablaze, and firefighters concentrated on them to keep the fire from spreading, Garrison said.
"We were able to contain it to the one just by making sure we protected the exposures," Garrison said.
Firefighter hurt in blaze at recycling truck garage, police say
The nearest recycling materials were stored on the other side of the parking lot, he added, and they weren't at risk.
A forklift destroyed in the fire contained propane tanks but explosions heard in the area were likely from the recycling trucks' tires, Garrison said, adding they tend to be under high pressure.
The nearest fire hydrant was two miles away, Garrison said. Both parts of Warren County's tanker task force were deployed to get water to the scene.
Using the tanker crews is nothing knew for Garrison's team.
"We're used to it," he said. "It's everyday firefighting for us -- we gotta truck water."
The cause of the fire is being investigated by New Jersey State Police, the Warren County fire marshal and the township fire department, Garrison said.
The pole barn hit by fire was built in 2006 and was the "drop point for electrical power for the property and all phone lines," Sanico Inc. said.
Customers were asked to use email -- mail@sanicoinc.com -- until the phone service is restored "hopefully by the end of the week," the company said.
The township department was assisted by firefighters from Phillipsburg, Stewartsville, Belvidere and Lopatcong Township as well as tanker crews from Belvidere, Oxford Township, Franklin, Huntington, Mountain Lake, Knowlton Township, Washington Township, Mansfield Township and Bloomsbury, Garrison said.
"That's a lot of work to fight a fire like that, to haul the water from one place to another; a lot of work, a lot of manpower," Garrison said. A fire such as this "certainly doesn't happen every day," he said. "It's larger than most, that's for sure. ... Everybody did a heck of a job."
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.