SPRINGFIELD – Firefighters remain on the scene Saturday of a massive blaze at a scrap metal facility that blanketed Springfield and surrounding communities with thick smoke Friday night.
“It is still smoldering. It is about 95% contained,” Fire Capt. Drew Piemonte said Saturday morning.
The fire broke out around 6:30 p.m. at Chet’s Auto Wrecking on 1571 Page Blvd. The size of the blaze, heavy smoke and type of materials burning forced the department to call in firefighters from multiple communities to assist, Piemonte said.
There have been no injuries, but local and state officials put out multiple warnings telling residents surrounding the fire site to take precautions to avoid the toxic smoke.
“All residents in the area are advised to close their windows, avoid outdoor activities and seek alternate travel routes due to the large columns of smoke in the area. If you are experiencing respiratory difficulties, call 911 immediately,” an advisory from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi said.
The actual damage has been minimal since the blaze was contained to a “massive pile” of recycling debris, Piemonte said.
“The pile is 60 feet high,” he said. “It is car parts, tires, engine parts with oil, car seats, catalytic converter…anything that will burn.”
With the pile still smoldering, firefighters on Saturday morning were focusing on trying to reach the burning debris in the middle and bottom of the heap so they could extinguish it. Piemonte predicted the work will continue to at least noon.
Employees from Chet’s Auto Wrecking were slowly breaking up the mountain of debris using heavy equipment while firefighters blasted any still-burning materials with water. The operation was being conducted under the supervision of fire officials to ensure it was safe, Piemonte said.
By 10 p.m. Friday, the Fire Department announced it had gone to four alarms, calling in all available Springfield firefighters as well as those from multiple surrounding communities including Ludlow, Chicopee, Wilbraham and West Springfield, he said.
“At one point we were putting 10,000 gallons of water a minute on the fire,” Piemonte said.
Calvin estimated firefighters used more than four million gallons of water Friday night to snuff the flames, he said.
Sarno also visited the site at about 10:30 p.m., repeating the warnings to residents. He also walked around the site to thank firefighters for their hard work.
The state Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Fire Services and the Hazardous Materials Response Division all responded to the blaze and monitored air quality and safety conditions, Piemonte said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the city’s Arson and Bomb Squad, he said.
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