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The landfill fire at the wastewater treatment plant off Route 5, has been burning since Thursday, Oct. 15, afternoon. Among the items burning are large trees, brush, and other yard debris.
On Thursday night, the fire had been contained, said an unidentified Agawam fire official who spoke at an evening press conference alongside a representative from West Springfield’s emergency responders.
The fire is a difficult one to manage, the Agawam firefighter said, because there is no water at the top of the landfill cap, high winds have spread the fire, and there is a lot of “fuel” - things to burn - up there.
To get water to the fire, about a dozen fire departments have come together to form what may be the longest water-pumping relay in Hampden County’s history, the fire official said. Water is going from one truck to the next, to the next, etc, until it reaches the fire.
To put the blaze completely out firefighters will use heavy equipment Friday, Oct. 16, to pull apart large fires, breaking them down into smaller ones that can then be put out. The process will likely take a day or two.
There are 81 firefighters who have worked on the fire so far, the fire official said. A state Hazardous Materials team is surveying the air, checking for toxins released by the fire. So far, nothing dangerous has been detected, the fire official said. No injuries have been reported.
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