Investigators: Fire at Orange County transfer station sparked by dozens of discarded torches
Authorities say roughly 30 discarded boxes with Airlighter torches inside caught fire while an excavator claw was handling a pile of dumped material that they were in.
Investigators say a 2-alarm fire Tuesday morning at Orange County’s transfer station in Goshen was caused by discarded torches.
News 12 was given video by county officials that showed the flames as it fully engulfed two bays on Training Center Lane around 9:20 a.m.
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Authorities say roughly 30 discarded boxes with Airlighter torches inside caught fire while an excavator claw was handling a pile of dumped material that they were in.
Fire officials say the torches were not supposed to be discarded at the facility.
Other people dumping off trash and building employees had to be evacuated during the fire.
“The fire was already too advanced for them to attempt to extinguish it, so they evacuated and everyone was out on our arrival," said Goshen Fire Chief Dan Graham.
Graham says a nearby hydrant wasn’t working and that a dozen mutual aid companies responded - several of them with water tankers.
Hazmat was also on the scene but did not find any contamination, according to county officials.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus says that the building does not appear to have significant fire damage due to its metal frame construction but that an inspection will be done to confirm the structure is sound.
No one was injured and the transfer station was reopened on Tuesday afternoon.
