A massive fire that ripped through an industrial complex in Passaic on Friday night, sending large flames into the air and heavy plumes of smoke that could be seen from New York City and even on weather radar, is now contained and under control, officials said Saturday morning.
But firefighters are are still on scene pouring water onto parts of the complex still burning. One concern, officials said, is keeping existing flames from reaching an area where chlorine is stockpiled.
Firefighters worked in frigid temperatures throughout the night to battle the 11-alarm blaze at the Majestic Industries warehouse and Qualco pool chemical plant on Passaic Street. The weather was so cold, the water they poured onto the buildings sometimes froze in the air.
State environmental officials said the air quality in the area is at “acceptable levels,” and nearby residents have not been evacuated, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said. But he asked neighbors to keep their windows closed for safety.
“Residents can come outside but should not come to this area,” Lora added.
A firefighter was taken to the hospital for an eye injury after being hit by fallen debris, officials said.
Seventeen other firefighters have suffered minor injuries because of slips and falls on ice that had formed under their feet while shooting water onto the blaze, officials said. All of them stayed on the job.
Crews — which included hundreds of firefighters from numerous companies across the area, including Bergen, Essex, Passaic, and Union counties — have so far been able to keep the flames from reaching the chemical stockpile at Qualco, a company that makes pool and spa products, including chlorine pellets used for pools, officials said.
“Had it hit the main plant, it would have been, to say the least, a major incident,” Lora said. “There would have been evacuations of many, many individuals.”
Firefighters were still on scene at 9:30 a.m., continuing to pour water on the blaze to keep it from spreading to the chlorine plant.
Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost said Trentacost said “a small amount of chlorine” on site had been consumed by the fire.
The blaze is “under control and contained” but “stubborn,” Trentacost said.
He said it’s too early to determine the cause of the fire.
Firefighters will keep shooting water onto the complex into Saturday night and then set up a watch, the chief said.
Asked to rank this fire in the city’s history, Trentacost said it wasn’t as bad as last year’s inferno at Atlantic Recycling, another blaze fought in frigid conditions. He also said it was not as bad as the a fire on Labor Day in 1985, which wiped out one-quarter of the city’s industrial base on the Eastside.
“Every fire is unique and presents its own set of challenges,” the chief said.
In this case, it’s a race to keep the fire from spreading to the chlorine plant combined with frigid temperatures, Trentacost said.
The complex — which dates to 1906 — was empty except for a security guard when the blaze broke out around 8:15 p.m. Friday night.
The mayor said the fire is believed to have started in Majestic Industries’ warehouse, one of two buildings on the site, along with Qualco’s plant. Majestic manufactures furniture for casinos.
Much of the complex has since collapsed, he said.
Neither Majestic nor Qualco immediately returned messages Saturday morning seeking comment.
Firefighters have had to battle plummeting temperatures and whipping wind. Water has been freezing under their feet, and huge icicles are hanging off one side of the building.
“We’re doing everything we can to rehab our firefighters and to rotate them through,” Trentacost said. “But fighting the elements has been really tough.”
The chief said there were a few minor explosions from propane tanks early on, “but that was to be expected, and it was nothing out of the ordinary.”
With frigid temperatures, Lora also urged residents to be careful to prevent fires.
“It’s times like these that you really appreciate the heroic efforts of our firefighters,” the mayor said.
Police have cordoned off about a half-mile zone around the complex, which is in a densely populated area — a mix of old factories and homes.
Officials had closed parts of Route 21 on Friday night because of the blaze. All lanes have now reopened, the state Department of Transportation said Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, a pall of smoke has drifted across the Passaic River.
There are fire companies from all over the state standing by to help.
After a fire broke out Saturday in a house on Aycrigg Avenue, in the heavily orthodox Jewish Third Ward, it was an odd scene as companies from Parsippany, Pompton Plains, Rockaway Township, Pompton Lakes, and Green Village responded to relatively minor fire in the boiler room. This being the Jewish Sabbath, many of the residents hadn’t heard about the huge inferno in their town.
Moshe Jacobs, 21, shook his head in disbelief as close to 100 out-of-town firefighters started unraveling hoses.
”I was wondering why all these fireman were here,” Jacobs said.
A few blocks from the scene, it’s just another Saturday in this gritty town. Residents are completing early-morning grocery shopping at the C Town near City Hall. A trash hauler collected garbage on a nearly empty Market Street not far from the fire scene.
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th — who represents the area in Congress — said he promises federal officials will “make sure Passaic has everything they need to get this situation contained and to protect our neighbors.”
“Winter fires are some of the worst and most terrifying our communities face,” Pascrell added. “I’ve been praying for our neighbors in Passaic while monitoring the situation closely. It appears the fire is blessedly under control. God bless our fire departments who bravely fought this massive blaze in the dead of night.”
NJ Advance Media staff writers Brent Johnson and Ted Sherman contributed to this report.
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