| 7 weeks after first fire, recycling plant site erupts in flames again | | Posted: Thursday, November 1, 2012 10:00 pm
| By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
Union City firefighters remained on the scene overnight at Greenway Recover & Recycle after a massive fire erupted at the site Wednesday morning.
Union City Fire Chief Kelly Edmison and more than a dozen firefighters were back on the scene late Wednesday morning at Greenway, which is located on North Morgan Street in Union City’s George C. Cloys Industrial Park.
It was a return visit to the scene as firefighters battled a blaze that generated thick black smoke, shooting flames and intense heat. Edmison visited the Greenway site early today and said plans are to continue monitoring the site for future flare-ups.
“It looks a little better today, but we’ve got a lot of areas still smoldering,” Edmison told The Messenger. “I’ve had a couple of people out there all night with a ladder truck.”
Wednesday’s fire oc-curred nearly seven weeks after a previous fire at the scene kept firefighters busy for almost a week.
The fire Wednesday broke out shortly before 10 a.m. with thick black smoke and flames shooting as high as 20 feet. Intense heat and the thick smoke from the fire forced firefighters to keep their distance. They worked the perimeter of the fire scene trying to keep the blaze contained to the Greenway site.
“There were reports of small fires (at Greenway) over the weekend,” Edmison told The Messenger.
He said the debris has been “smoldering” ever since the initial fire in mid-September.
“We knew it would take a long time for this fire to suffocate,” he said.
Due to the amount of debris at the site, there apparently continues to be a chance the fire will reignite.
“At this point, we’re just trying to keep it from flaring up,” Edmison said.
Crews have been using heavy equipment during the past few weeks to clean up the site. The Greenway site continues to be littered with large bundles of cardboard and other debris scattered around the fenced-in lot.
Rives Volunteer Fire Department firefighters were also on the scene Wednesday helping out.
Danny Jowers with the Obion County Emergency Management Agency was also on the scene and reported to The Messenger he was contacting the state Department of Environment and Conservation about the fire.
Edmison told The Messenger early today a meeting is planned to discuss what steps to take next in light of Wednesday’s flare-up.
Published in The Messenger 11.1.12 | | | | |
