Pre-evacuation video: Major industrial fire with hazmat in West Ghent, New York.
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This is some fairly early video from Lance Miller of a major fire in West Ghent, New York (Columbia County). The video begins before firefighters were pulled back from the building and people living near TCI of New York, a transformer recycling plant, were forced to leave their homes.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency gave the all-clear to Southern Berkshire County at 5 p.m. on Thursday, after people there had been warned to stay inside because of a smoke plume from a fire in New York state.
The fire engulfed a transformer recycling company in New York’s Hudson Valley late Wednesday into Thursday, spewing noxious fumes that traveled eastward over Southern Berkshire County.
In New York, the Columbia County Emergency Management Office had already lifted its advisory, telling residents they may resume normal activities. Officials in New York said tests of soot from the fire show no evidence of PCB contamination. Tests results for dioxin, a potential byproduct of the burning, are expected by today.
Tom Casey, Hudson-Catskills Newspapers:
The fire broke out at approximately 10:15 p.m. and burned into Thursday afternoon, after the inferno raged and a series of explosions caused emergency personnel to pull back.
As of 10:30 p.m. Thursday, 24 hours after the fire started, Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies were still at the scene, the Columbia County 911 Office reported.
TCI’s website says it disposes of electrical equipment containing poly-chlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. PCBs were once used as coolants in electrical equipment and are a suspected carcinogen.
Erica Lynn, an administrative assistant at TCI, said they were supporting the firefighters and emergency crews but had no further comment.
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