ROCKPORT (Dec. 7, 9:35 a.m.) — Just over 48 hours since a fire was reported burning underground at the landfill at the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Transfer Station in Rockport, firefighters Wednesday morning are packing up their water lines and preparing to head back to the station to clean up. For MCSWC Manager Jim Guerra, it’s back to the business of operating the facility for the public and commercial disposal of trash, intake of recyclables and overseeing ongoing work that involves installing a subsurface dam between the water-filled northern end of Jacobs Quarry and the waste-filled southern end.

According to Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley, the fire is now out.

“We dug around and chased it down, and I think we are good at this point,” said Peasley. Early Monday morning, when flames were first reported at the south end of the landfill pile, firefighters used three or four water lines to work to soak and saturate what turned out to be a deep-burning fire. That day, about 9,000 gallons of water was used, via the Maine Water hydrant on Union Street that pulls water from Mirror Lake in Rockport.

Also on Monday, Peasley enlisted the help of Sargent Corp., which had an excavator on scene for the quarry project, to dig into the burning landfill pile and pull out the burning material, on which copious amounts of water was applied.

“If the fire had been burning deep, we would have left it, not pulled it apart, but with visible flames we needed to start tearing apart, working it and cooling it off,” said Peasley.

Rockport Fire Department was called back to the landfill Tuesday morning, as the fire had reignited. And again, the excavator was integral in finding the fire and allowing them to chase it down and pour tens of thousands of gallons of water on it.

During the work Tuesday, Peasley said they tabulated 80,000 gallons of water used. They set up an automatic “sprinkler” on the pile overnight, which applied another 100,000 gallons before it was turned off around 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Peasley said there were 13 Rockport firefighters on four lines working five hours straight Tuesday morning, one on each of the knobs and two holding and moving lines around as needed.

“They had been working straight with no break and they needed some relief, so I reached out to the other towns, especially those whose residents use the transfer station, and Camden, Hope and Lincolnville each sent some guys, as did Rockland,” said Peasley. “It gave my guys about an hour of relief to eat, warm up and rest.”

Guerra said he is already working on a plan for the “next fire.” He said there had been an underground fire earlier one August at the landfill, and he covered it up and it kept it contained. 

“There is a lot of microbial activity in the landfill, and it’s not to say that when a fire breaks the surface you don’t address it,” said Guerra. “But next time we’re going to have steel tubes to put into the ground where we suspect there is a fire below, and then pump water down that way. Next time we’ll attempt to not dip up the pile. We’ll have a plan to deal with any surface fire, and then implement the plan to inject water via the steel tubes to keep the pile in tact, if we can.”

When asked about air quality issues over the past two days, Guerra said that a lot of what people saw as “smoke” at the time of the initial fire report and once the fire department was on scene was actually steam, or quickly became scene with the addition of water.

In response to other queries about using water from the north quarry instead of the hydrants, Guerra said they indeed could have pulled water from the quarry, but that would have required a couple of large pumps at the facility, and those are not something the facility currently has.

“I just finished my budget, and some of these things will be coming forward,” said Guerra.

The transfer station is now open to the public, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is still a need to travel through the facility in a new pattern, due to the quarry project work. Staff said to expect delays, especially at the landfill, as they continue to work on the landfill and the on-going construction project.

Just before 9:30 a.m. Peasley was on scene picking up the last of the water lines that had added to the need to close the facility to the public yesterday, while firefighters were on scene and lines and trucks blocked the travel lanes. The facility is typically closed on Mondays, which made for easier work for everyone, although Sargent was on scene working, which Peasley said he was thankful for, since they were so willing to help and saved a lot of time as opposed to bringing one in from elsewhere in the county.

“The bottom line after this experience, is we have to build for these types of things, and that’s what I’ll be doing now,” said Guerra.

ROCKPORT (Dec. 6, 11:29 a.m.) — Until further notice, the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Transfer Station in Rockport is closed to the public, but is allowing commercial haulers to enter and access the facility via Limerock Street.

MCSWC Manager Jim Guerra said late Tuesday morning that they can’t allow traffic in through the front gate until the lines connecting to water hydrants on Union Street have been removed.

And Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley doesn’t see that happening for at least another day, maybe more.

“The fire reignited overnight, or was still burning deep underground, and we are back at it today with an excavator from Sargent picking apart the pile, searching for fire, pulling up the smoldering burning refuse for us to douse with water,” said Peasley.

As of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Peasley reported that 60,000 gallons of water had been put on the fire. They have also called in a second excavator from Sargent Corp., which has already been assisting with the fire since early Monday morning, having been on site working on the quarry dam project since earlier this fall.

Guerra said that he has been keeping Maine Department of Environmental Protection informed of the situation, but added that thus far, the water being used on the landfill fire has been going into the quarry as leachate, and from there is being pumped to Camden’s treatment facility.

“So there is no issue with groundwater contamination,” said Guerra. “So far, people coming to the gate have been really understanding, and we appreciate that while we deal with this issue.”

Rockport Fire Department is seeking additional manpower to relieve the firefighters that have been on scene all morning, and the Maine Forestry Service has been advised with the potential that they could send in a hot shot team.

ROCKPORT (Dec. 6, 8:41 a.m.) — The Mid-Coast Solid Waste Transfer Station in Rockport is closed for the time being as personnel and firefighters crews tend to a fire that has reignited at the landfill pile.

Backhoes are currently digging away at the fill, trying to stop the smoldering fire that started underneath yesterday at the facility. (Read about the fire here: 9,000 gallons of water needed to put out fire in MCSWC landfill)

The Rockport Fire Department spent much of Monday morning putting the fire out, and there were no more signs of smoke in the large pile of refuse that mounds an old quarry. But sometime during the night, the fire started again, and the Rockport Fire Department is back on scene on Union Street.

The facility will be closed until further notice, which will appear here, at PenBayPilot.com, or at midcoastsolidwaste.org, or on the transfer station’s Facebook page, facebook.com/MidCoastSolidWasteCorporation

Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com and 207-706-6655.