Fire Heavily Damages Berlin Recycling Plant

Firefighters from Berlin, Meriden and Rocky Hill, among others, were kept busy this morning with a blaze at a local recycling plant.

Fire personnel were called to the Connecticut Waste Processing Materials LLC, a waste removal and recycling plant on Christian Lane, at 9:45 a.m. when a fire started under a machine used in the everyday operation of the facility, according to Berlin Fire Marshal Steven Waznia.

Employees using the machine tried to extinguish the fire, but when it was apparent that method was not working they promptly called for help.

"By the time we got here... the entire back part of the building was already burning," Waznia said.

No one was injured in the blaze; "everyone is accounted for," Waznia said. 

It is uncertain whether the building will have to be closed for a period of time. The fire departments, all part of Task Force 51, were still monitoring hot spots at the scene as of 11:40 a.m. Waznia expected emergency personnel would be at the scene for several more hours "pulling stuff apart."

The material that burned is not hazardous, according to a report in the Berlin Citizen.

In addition to Berlin, Meriden and Rocky Hill, the fire companies that are part of the task force include Cromwell, Whethersfield, Newington and Westfield.

Christian Lane remains closed.

Check back to Berlin Patch for more details.