Fire at Boston construction waste recycling center "could burn for days," commissioner says
A huge fire at a construction waste recycling center in Boston spread smoke over a large part of the city Sunday. Fire Commissioner Paul Burke said it "could burn for days."
Boston fire today
The eight-alarm fire started around 8:30 a.m. inside the ReSource Roxbury facility on Girard Street.
No one was there at the time, according to Burke, and no one was hurt. But 150 firefighters were called in because there's so much hazardous material inside and the building was no longer safe.
"Pretty crazy to see," said Roxbury resident Rick Miller. "We didn't expect to see anything like this."
"It is a bad fire because of the debris in there. Construction material is very combustible so it's burning pretty good," Burke told reporters Sunday. "We don't know what's in that material. There could be lithium batteries in it. There could be anything."
Burke said the "hazards are unlimited."
"These piles, they're so deep and dense, they could burn for days," the commissioner said. "I can't get firefighters in there to move the piles with debris. They'd have to do it by hand and I can't risk their lives doing something like that to save a building that's empty that could be replaced easily."
A drone was used to get temperature readings off the roof with a thermal camera to find where the fire was burning inside. Burke said the device can't go into the building because it would melt.
Firefighters cut holes in the metal walls to get hoses inside. The fire did not spread to the building next door.
Air quality concerns
The fire department is testing air quality in the neighborhood. There have been no evacuations, but the commissioner said anyone living nearby should close their windows and doors to keep the smoke out. The Boston Public Health Commission said it also has teams checking the air quality.
"If your building has an HVAC system, please turn it off until the smoke is gone," the agency said in a statement.
There's no word yet on where or how the fire started.
"It was a lot of smoke, it was hard to see, the smell was overbearing," said a Roxbury resident.
Burke said the company sifts through wood, asbestos, wall board and other construction materials to separate it before sending it out to be recycled.
The commissioner said rain in the forecast Monday would not help because the roof is still up, so firefighters will "have to go in there at some point." Burke said a structural engineer will determine when it's safe to go inside the building.
The commissioner said anyone who needs to drive in the area should avoid it Sunday and Monday.
"I just don't know how any of the people who live even closer to the fire are even in their houses right now," said Roxbury resident Patrick Gouthro. "They say it's going to take all day and all night for this fire to go out."
"This is devastating"
Sue Sullivan, the executive director of the Newmarket Business Improvement District, said ReSource Roxbury has been in the neighborhood for about 10 to 15 years. She called them "great community partners."
"This looks like a major setback," she told reporters. "There aren't a lot of places that do the streaming of recycling demolition waste. If it's down at all, it's going to be a problem."
"This is devastating for this company," Sullivan said. "It's going to be a big clean up."
Statement from ReSource Roxbury
"Sometime this morning a fire started at ReSource Waste Services of Roxbury, a construction debris recycling facility that has operated at this site for over a decade and which is closed on Sundays.
We're thankful that no one was hurt and appreciate the Boston Fire Department's response in getting the incident under control. Our operations team will remain on site with Boston Fire until BFD has determined that the fire is fully extinguished and the site is secure.
Fortunately, the fire did not spread beyond the main building and no evacuations were needed. We do not accept trash, asbestos or any hazardous materials at this facility, which primarily serves the construction industry in the Boston Metro area to sort and recycle concrete, metal and wood debris.
Once we are assured that the site is safe and secure, we will work with Boston Fire and a structural engineer to assess the building and determine our next steps."
Safety is our top priority and we are grateful that no one was hurt," said CEO Jack Canty.
