JACKSONVILLE, Fla, — Fire crews are working into the night to contain a fire at a recycling center in North Jacksonville.
This fire has been going on for nearly 24 hours now, and fire crews expect it to burn into Wednesday morning.
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Dark plumes of smoke filled the sky when tires from the Atlantic Can Recycling Center went up in flames.
About 30 units and 75 firefighters with the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department have been working around the clock to contain the flames.
They even had heavy equipment raking through the large piles of rubber and spraying it with foam during most of Tuesday.
“We actually built a damn or a dike around the area that we’re dragging that debris into to hold that water in there, so as we roll that debris through that water, it helps extinguish it,” Fire Chief Keith Powers said.
Chief Powers said that access to water has been one of their biggest challenges.
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“We had to get water supply from multiple sources, we had to get a couple of hydrants we’re using, and we had to pump those hydrants, had to get JEA to boost the pressure, and we’re also getting water out of a pond behind the scene,” Chief Powers said.
Crews are working quickly because the burning chemical is toxic and could be hazardous. But Chief Powers said the air monitors haven’t picked up any significant readings to require an evacuation.
But if you have asthma or allergies, he said you may want to stay inside.
“The smoke is not harmful to healthy people, but somebody that has asthma or something, they probably don’t want to get exposed to that,” Chief Powers said.
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With all the work the crews are putting in, Chief Powers expects the fire to be out by tomorrow.
“They’re doing amazing work like they always do, I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Chief Powers said.
Chief Powers said he has an idea of the cause, but he is not ready to disclose that info. The State Fire Marshal is investigating.
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