Farm Ave Business Also Saw Four-Alarm Mulch Fire in 2010

No doubt for some Peabody firefighters Monday afternoon, it was like déjà vu all over again.

Four engines and the department’s new tower ladder truck all responded to a wood recycling business on Farm Avenue around 2:30 p.m. . Dense gray smoke blanketed the area for at least a mile and burning material could be smelled for just as far.

On June 20, 2010, the entire was called out to the same site on a general alarm, as a four-alarm mulch fire burned through the property and threatened to jump the highway divide into a residential area. That fire burned for days afterwards, as firefighters continued to douse small fires and soak logs amid 50- to 60-foot piles of various types of bark mulch.

By comparison, firefighters had the fire under control by approximately 5 p.m. on Monday – it had only reached two alarms – and firefighters were on-site through the night, patrolling the property for any lingering hotspots. No injuries were reported.

The site is leased by J.D. Raymond Transport, Inc., which is based out of Maine. The company trucks in brush and logs and turns them into mulch and wood chips.

The dense smoke, which caused poor visibility for drivers in the area, did lead to state and local police shutting down highway ramps between Interstate 95 and routes 128 and 1 for about an hour on Monday. Farm Avenue between Dearborn Road and Forest Street was closed to traffic while firefighters were at the scene.

“Mutual Aid covered the city and at this time two engines and six firefighters are working as a detail with J.D. Raymond employees until [the fire is fully] extinguished,” said Fire Chief Steven Pasdon in a brief message shortly after 8 p.m.

There was no information available Monday as to whether the fire damaged any equipment this time or what might have caused it. The 2010 fire cost about $50,000 in fire suppressant foam and damaged  $1 million worth of private equipment at the site.

That fire also brought to light the fact that neither the property owner nor J.D. Raymond obtained a necessary permit from the Fire Department to store more than 2,500 cubic feet of bark mulch on-site.

The material is considered “combustible” or highly flammable under state regulations, thus requiring the local permit, and also cannot be stored outside in piles taller than 20 feet.

At the time, the company said it was unaware of the regulations and Pasdon said the relevant fire prevention stipulations were not clear-cut on the issue. He said further that no one was really aware of how mulch was being stored on-site.

The state Fire Marshal’s office, however, said at the time that the safety regulations were clear in light of a ruling by the state Board of Fire Regulations that spring, but acknowledged that official view might not have been distributed to local fire chiefs.

It was unclear Monday whether the company had obtained a permit or any made any other changes at the site since 2010.