Massive fire at vacant chemical plant

Crews battled a massive fire at an abandoned chemical factory for several hours overnight in Paterson, New Jersey. Smoke continued to pour out of the rubble throughout the day Saturday.

The flames, which began around 11:30 p.m., burned through the old facility on Piercy St. near Presidential Blvd. and the Passaic River, also damaging power lines that caused some people nearby to lose electricity.

“I was about to go to bed and looked out the window, saw the flames, felt the heat,” neighbor Ramon Pacheco told NBC New York, about the fire that also threatened nearby homes. “Just woke the wife up and the kids, and you just got out (of) the house before anything happened.”

Paterson Deputy Fire Chief Michael Cleenput says the factory has likely been abandoned for about two decades. “We had one operational hydrant and severe low water pressure. So, that took a while to really overcome and get an effective firefight here,” he said.

Other fire departments were called in to help battle the 5-alarm fire. “We were surprised to find out that after all the years of this building being vacant, that there was a live gas feed,” said Cleenput. Crews were eventually able to shut down the gas feed.

Ervio Taveras owns a car dealership across the street. “I lost two cars, but the other, we’re gonna work it out and sell them,” he told News 4.

Officials say the building had been decontaminated from chemicals once housed in the building a year ago, and there is no longer an airborne threat.

The mayor’s office says that what remains of the building will be demolished. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.