Milwaukee recycling plant fire fully extinguished after 24 hours
MILWAUKEE - A three-alarm fire at Milwaukee Recycles took 24 hours to fully extinguish, Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski said Thursday, June 1.
MFD was first dispatched to the plant on Mount Vernon Avenue at 1:48 p.m. Wednesday. Milwaukee's Department of Public Works told FOX6 News an equipment operator saw a small fire in a holding bin, activated the fire suppression system and called 911.
"Much credit to them for trying, more credit to them for recognizing that hazard and getting themselves out, that saved us," Lipski said.
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HAZMAT personnel tested the air after smoke billowed from the blaze and drifted west toward the 27th Street Viaduct. Despite an odor, Lipski said there is believed to be a negligible impact to the public related to the smoke.
No injuries were reported.
Operated by Republic Services, the facility processes recyclables under a joint venture between the city of Milwaukee and Waukesha County. While the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, the municipalities are asking recyclers to be more vigilant when recycling metals.
"We're really asking this opportunity to partner with our residents when they put material in those bins," said Dale Shaver, Waukesha County director of land use. "Be very mindful while those NiCad or lithium batteries look to be metal, they become little igniters especially when they're run over with the equipment inside of a facility. That's what sparks fires."
The over 300,000 households the plant services will not see a change in recycling schedules. As of now, they'll move materials to area warehouses in Madison and possibly Chicago.
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"The trucks will continue to pick up the recyclables at the curb and the back end, we made alternative arrangements for where the material will be received and ultimately processed," said Rick Myers with Milwaukee Sanitation Services.
The city and county are happy their protocols are keeping recyclers on track.
"The less we can interrupt the normal pattern at the house, the better off we are," Shaver said.