NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - Firefighters from several North Shore departments battled a raging four-alarm blaze that broke out Tuesday night and tore through a recycling plant in North Andover.
Crews responding to a reported structure fire on Holt Road around 6:45 p.m. found heavy flames and a massive plume of white smoke billowing into the sky above the TBI Recycling facility.
“There was a lot of smoke,” one woman told 7NEWS. “I was in Lawrence on the third floor and I could see it from there.”
Firefighters had to work late into the night to extinguish the stubborn blaze.
Video from Sky7 HD showed the trash inside burning from one end of the sprawling building to the other.
Nearly 12 hours after the facility caught fire, smoke could still be seen pouring out into the air early Wednesday morning.
The facility was shut down for the day when the fire broke out. No employees were inside at the time.
North Andover Fire Lt. Michael Beirne says the “deep-seated” fire caused heavy damaged to the facility and all of its contents.
“The problem is you have large piles, a lot of materials piled up,” he said. “The fire worked its way down in.”
There were no reported injuries.
Air quality tests at the scene and in surrounding neighborhoods found no hazards but residents were still urged to keep their windows closed.
A stretch of Route 125 was closed to traffic due to the fire. Motorists were urged to seek alternate routes.
The building has been deemed a total loss and will have to be torn down.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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