Officials are investigating the cause of the blaze at Commerce Park, formerly the Ingersoll Rand property in Phillipsburg.
A fire Saturday evening ignited the roof of a building under demolition at the old Ingersoll Rand property.
Phillipsburg Fire Chief Rich Hay said the fire broke out just before 5 p.m. at Building No. 310 and was contained mostly to the roof area. Since the three-story building is under demolition and has been compromised, firefighters had to be careful to avoid a building collapse, Hay said.
"The building is not in the best condition," he said. "We were trying to extinguish it in the safest way possible."
The fire was brought under control within 15 to 20 minutes; the entire scene was cleared by 7:03 p.m. Three firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, but were later released from the hospital, Hay said.
Developer secures Commerce Park property
Fire officials and police detectives continue to investigate the cause of the blaze. There was no one at the site during the time of the blaze.
A crew of asbestos abatement workers had been working on the building earlier in the day, but left before the fire ignited, Hay said.
Responding were five of the six fire companies that make up the Phillipsburg Fire Department, as well as firefighters from Alpha and Harmony Township.
Medford-based Opus Investments has proposed building 4 million square feet of warehouse space on a nearly 400-acre site, which includes the old Ingersoll Rand property.
The site, spread between Phillipsburg and Lopatcong Township, is known as "Commerce Park."
Opus predicts that when the eight warehouses are complete and occupied by 2022, the site will produce almost 3,000 jobs and $425 million in annual economic output. It also projects Commerce Park -- both directly and through its impact on other local businesses -- will produce $3.7 billion within Warren County over the next 10 years.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.