Huge Scrap Yard Fire At Port Newark Took 2 Days To Put Out

NEWARK, NJ — How do you fight a fire that’s buried inside a 60-foot pile of scrap metal? The answer to this perplexing challenge took Newark firefighters two days to figure out, authorities reported Wednesday.

On Monday night, a fire at a recycling plant near the Port of Newark began burning, sending clouds of thick smoke into the air. People as far away as New York City reported smelling noxious odors. Read More: Fire At Port Newark Sends Smoke Billowing Into NYC

The fire burned through the day on Tuesday. It was finally extinguished at 8:49 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Newark Department of Public Safety.

No injuries have been reported, authorities said.

The Newark Department of Public Safety’s arson unit is investigating the cause and origin of the fire. Crews are maintaining a fire watch in case any flareups happen, authorities said.

Newark officials said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has “confirmed the safety of the air quality in the area.”

Newark safety officials released the following statement about the fire on Wednesday:

“Just after 7:50 p.m. on Monday, Newark firefighters responded to 206 Calcutta Street on a call of a fire involving a pile of metal in a scrap yard at EMR Recycling. The fire division worked in concert with the scrap yard’s heavy equipment operators to move and spread out the metal to fully extinguish the fire. The Newark Fire Division further utilized Essex County’s Neptune System to pump water through an apparatus known as the Iron Man nozzle. In contrast to a traditional fire engine, which can pump 1,250 gallons per minute, the Neptune System can pump 10,000 gallons of water per minute.”

“This fire posed some unique challenges for the Newark Fire Division in that it was deep-seated inside a 60-foot pile of scrap metal, where firehoses are not effective,” Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. O'Hara said.

“I commend Newark’s bravest for working around the clock to ensure that this fire was appropriately extinguished,” he added.

OUTSIDE OF NEWARK

The large fire affected towns and cities outside of Newark, authorities reported.

Nearby, the Bayonne Office of Emergency Management said Tuesday that air monitors reported "negative readings." However, there was an odor in the uptown area, authorities added.

Public safety officials in New York City posted a message on social media about the fire on Tuesday morning. It read:

"Due to emergency personnel operating at a fire in Newark, New Jersey, residents in Manhattan and the Bronx may see or smell smoke."

"Currently commuting home from lower Manhattan and I can still smell it by Citi Field," one Twitter commenter wrote.

"I'm in the city and I definitely smelled smoke this morning," another person commented. "I initially thought something in my apartment was burning."

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued an alert about the fire at 9:31 a.m. on Tuesday:

"Due to an ongoing fire at Port Newark; Clipper Street remains closed in both directions. PAPD, Newark FD and Bayonne FD are on scene. Follow direction of PAPD."

In North Jersey, several nearby fire departments lent a hand to their peers in Newark.

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