Plastics Fire Burns for Hours, Seen for Miles

Investigators say that between 150 and 175 emergency personnel are on scene fighting the fire at the recycling plant fire.

Emergency workers continue to fight an early morning fire that has smoke billowing into the sky in eastern Pennsylvania.

Investigators say that between 150 and 175 emergency personnel are on scene fighting the fire at Nicos Polymers Group in Plainfield Township. The recycling plant fire was first reported around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The intense heat and flames has caused much of the building, which contains plastic products and a large number of boxes and wooden pallets, to collapse.

All 11 workers on duty when the fire broke out escaped the building without injury, according to The Morning Call of Allentown.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was on the scene earlier to monitor air quality and make sure runoff from the water didn't end up in a nearby creek. Bob Mateff, Northampton County director of emergency management services, told The Express-Times of Easton that the plume was not creating a hazard for people in the immediate area.

Firefighters had a tough time getting enough water to fight the fire, supplementing their own tankers with water trucks on loan from a nearby landfill.

According to landlord Jim Knicos, the building is insured.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

This is the second major blaze in Northampton County in less than a month. On July 15, the four-alarm fire at the National Plastics and Manufacturing Company caused about 50 people to be assessed by the DEP and a handful treated for illness "due to fumes."

The two plants are about nine miles away from each other.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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