Hundreds of firefighters battled for six hours to extinguish a factory fire in Pennsylvania, United States.
The factory, in Palmer Township, was used to recycle plastic. According to bystanders, the blaze at National Plastics and Manufacturing Company sent huge plumes of smoke into the air which could be seen for miles around. The fire was reported at 11 am on 15 July and finally out at 5.30 pm.
Local news reports said the blaze started in an outside area the company uses to house material waiting to be recycled.
Flare-ups involving the piles of compacted plastic hampered efforts, the paper said. The blaze spread to the northeast corner of the building, according to Palmer Township fire commissioner Delmar Grube. However, he said that sprinklers in the building had helped reduce spread.
Reserves of water inside the industrial park got so low that they had to be topped up by the Easton Suburban Water Authority.
A Lehigh County hazardous materials team and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection were on site to monitor water and air quality.
