Small fire burns cleanly at Rockland Transfer Station

Wed, 02/26/2020 - 3:00pm

    ROCKLAND — A small fire developed in a Rockland Transfer Station compactor, Wednesday, Feb. 26, prompting a response by firefighters from Rockland and Rockport. Camden firefighters were cancelled while they were en route.

    Transfer Station employees were reportedly using a torch on a section of an old compactor that they were working to remove from inside the former recycling garage, according to Rockland Fire Chief Chris Whytock.

    Pieces of clean cardboard within the compactor bin caught fire, falling into the hopper near ground level, where more bits of cardboard and other materials still remained. After the arrival of initial fire personnel, the fire began working its way up to the upper shaft.

    Because the fire’s fuel was limited to clean cardboard, responders didn’t need to take any extra precautions that may have been considered if the fire were in the garage housing household trash. On the other hand, the household trash bin resides on top of movable cargo containers, according to Whytock.

    “At least in there [the trash garage], it’s all in a trailer, and you can hook it up and drag it out [in order to get closer to the flames], versus here, it’s just a big hole in the bottom where their overflow cardboard would sit.”

    On the other hand, this fire burned cleanly and was easily extinguished.

    Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com