The Palmer Township Municipal Fire Department received a call for fire in a dumpster at the National Plastic Plant on July 15, 2011. The fire was actually in an area were recycled plastic was being stored.
First arriving units found heavy fire extending down the north side of the building and saw that the fire had penetrated into the loading dock areas as well as the building office area. The building's sprinkler system saved the building , but all the material stored outside was lost.
Fire companies from four different counties were called in for assistance with the fire. Most of that assistance was for additional manpower and for extra water supply. The nearby Lehigh Valley International Airport responded with Rescue 1 to provide foam support to help with the extinguishing of the fire.
Several minor injuries were reported mostly due to heat stress from the fire as well as the air temperature being near 90 degrees. It took nearly six hours to place the fire under control.
