by pateljones
Well, I guess the cries to shut down this waste transfer station will increase now. I see Jim Wilson is quoted. Anyone know what happened with the DWI charge he faced in Glen Ridge last year?
Fire scorches Passaic waste transfer site
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
By ALEXANDER MacINNES
HERALD NEWS
PASSAIC -- A controversial waste-transfer rail station on Passaic Street, which stores on average of 320 tons of construction and demolition debris, caught fire Tuesday morning and still was not completely extinguished by early evening, fire officials said.
Two Passaic firefighters suffered minor injuries but refused medical care as fire crews cautiously extinguished the blaze from the perimeter of the property, rather than entering the corrugated metal building where the debris burned.
"The contents were unknown and it was too dangerous to make an attempt [to get inside],"said Deputy Fire Chief Jose A. Roman.
Fire Inspector John Miskovsky said he could not comment on the possible cause of the fire.
The transfer site began operating last May over objections by some city officials and residents. Because the site is a rail-based station, it needs local or state permits under the preemption clause in the 1995 Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.
Passaic land-use and zoning boards had no oversight on its operations and city officials cannot cite it for violations.
Jim Wilson, president of the New York & Greenwood Railway Co., which operates the transfer station, said the cause of the fire was undetermined, but there were 160 tons of mostly wood and plaster construction debris in two freight cars on site at the time of the fire.
He said no asbestos or chemicals "that we know of" were burned in the fire.
County health officials responded to the scene to conduct environmental air tests. They concluded that the burning trash was not a chemical danger to the public, according to Deborah Drake, an officer with the Passaic County Health Department.
Fred Mumford, a spokesman with the state Department of Environmental Protection that is responsible for inspecting the facility, said the DEP will investigate the fire.
Fire scorches Passaic waste transfer site
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
By ALEXANDER MacINNES
HERALD NEWS
PASSAIC -- A controversial waste-transfer rail station on Passaic Street, which stores on average of 320 tons of construction and demolition debris, caught fire Tuesday morning and still was not completely extinguished by early evening, fire officials said.
Two Passaic firefighters suffered minor injuries but refused medical care as fire crews cautiously extinguished the blaze from the perimeter of the property, rather than entering the corrugated metal building where the debris burned.
"The contents were unknown and it was too dangerous to make an attempt [to get inside],"said Deputy Fire Chief Jose A. Roman.
Fire Inspector John Miskovsky said he could not comment on the possible cause of the fire.
The transfer site began operating last May over objections by some city officials and residents. Because the site is a rail-based station, it needs local or state permits under the preemption clause in the 1995 Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.
Passaic land-use and zoning boards had no oversight on its operations and city officials cannot cite it for violations.
Jim Wilson, president of the New York & Greenwood Railway Co., which operates the transfer station, said the cause of the fire was undetermined, but there were 160 tons of mostly wood and plaster construction debris in two freight cars on site at the time of the fire.
He said no asbestos or chemicals "that we know of" were burned in the fire.
County health officials responded to the scene to conduct environmental air tests. They concluded that the burning trash was not a chemical danger to the public, according to Deborah Drake, an officer with the Passaic County Health Department.
Fred Mumford, a spokesman with the state Department of Environmental Protection that is responsible for inspecting the facility, said the DEP will investigate the fire.
