A fire at a New Jersey mulch recycling yard Sunday could take days to fully extinguish, Waterford Township officials said.
The fire was reported around 4:20 p.m. Sunday, April 27 at 225 Jackson Road in Atco. Waterford Township police chief Daniel Cormaney said crews that responded were met with heavy fire and smoke.
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WATCH HERE“We had vehicles, boats on fire on the edge of the property. It was pushing towards residences and a large field that’s real dry. We were concerned about going to the residential area and burning some houses,” Chief Cormaney said.
According to Cormaney, the location that caught on fire is a mulch recycling yard. Though the fire is contained to the land there, he said there is a large pile of wood still burning and several small spots. Those could a few days to extinguish, he told reporters at a briefing Sunday evening.
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SIGN UP Cormaney said crews knocked on the doors of about 50 homes near Jackson Road area where the fire was reported. Families in those homes were not under a mandatory evacuation order, though their evacuations were voluntary.
Residents who live on Anderson Avenue, Front Street and Sapling Way should shelter in place as officials monitor the air quality, according to a spokesperson with Camden County.
Dan Keashen, Director of Public Affairs for Camden County, said officials do not believe anyone was at the recycling yard at the time of the fire. Several fire agencies responded to the fire Sunday.
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“These guys are doing a tremendous job out here. There’s 50 different agencies, hundreds of first responders here,” Keashan said. “Many of them fighting the fire, also many of them providing support services to the guys fighting the fires.”
Jackson Road between Hopewell and Cooper roads was expected to stay closed through at least Tuesday as crews work to put out the fire, according to the Waterford Township Police Department. Drivers were being urged to find different routes to avoid the area.
No injuries have been reported as a result of this fire.
