Three-alarm fi re in a Port Morris
recycling warehouse injures fi ve
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A massive threealarm
fi re ravished a
recycling plant at 900 E.
136th Street in Port Morris
during the overnight
hours of Thursday, June
27.
Five out of the 138 responding
FDNY members
suffered non-life threatening
injuries while combatting
the thick smoke
and high fl ames at Parallel
Products recycling
facility.
Three employees were
inside the burning facility
and were each evacuated
safely by rescue
workers according to the
FDNY.
The fi re fi rst ignited
just after midnight as
fi refi ghters entered the
long warehouse from its
Walnut Avenue side, using
a large scale-loading
door for access to run
hose lines into the plant.
The smoke was thick
to the point that anything
past that expansive doorway
was essentially too
murky to see beyond for
fi rst responders.
The blaze had gotten to
the level that fi refi ghters
placed two fans within
the doorway’s entrance to
aid in the operation.
By 2 a.m. fi refi ghters
utilized Ladder Truck 29
to obtain roof access into
the plant through its East
136th Street side access.
FDNY members entered
the roof through
a small cutaway above
a separate, closed warehouse
door to a section
of the roof that was in between
two taller sections
of the facility.
The front of the
building, where rescue
workers were entering
through the heavy smoke,
was constructed of brick
while further back, towards
Locust Avenue, the
walls were made of composite
materials.
Drone footage showed
FDNY members operating
atop the facility’s
roof, fi ghting through
blinding smoke generated
by the intense fl ames that
was barreling from down
below.
FDNY offi cials believe
the fi re began in the
building’s ceiling.
The department also
said that the smoke had
become so intense at
points during the operation
that fi refi ghters
had to regroup and call
for backup to put out the
blaze.
In total, 33 units were
involved in dousing the
fl ames.
Finally, the FDNY did
get the fi re under control
at 4:07 a.m.
The Parallel Products
recycling facility that
was engulfed handles
mostly aluminum, plastic
and glass containers
and recycles an estimated
1.2 billion items
per year.
The company also
handles fl ammable recyclables
like new beverage
containers, fi berglass,
fi ber, carpet, clothing,
food packaging in addition
to other recycledcontent
products.
The cause of the fi re
was determined to be a
faulty electrical panel.
9 BRONX WEEKLY July 07, 2019 www.BXTimes.com
Firefi ghters enter the burning facility at 900 E. 136th Street. FDNY
Firefi ghters enter the facility’s roof using Ladder 29 on East 136th Street. FDNY Engine 58 engulfed in smoke outside of the plan’s truck loading dock. FDNY
/www.BXTimes.com
/www.BXTimes.com
/www.BXTimes.com
/www.BXTimes.com