Baiting Hollow Recycling Plant Fire Sparks Air Quality Concerns

A fire broke out at the Crown Sanitation recycling plant in Baiting Hollow around early Wednesday morning, prompting a massive response from multiple fire departments and triggering an air quality alert for miles around.

The fire was declared under control shortly after 11 a.m., although as of Wednesday afternoon, the building was still smoldering, with smoke blowing east and a distinct odor emanating from the site. Firefighters remained on the scene, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) was there as well to monitor hazards such as spills. One firefighter was injured in the blaze, with no civilian injuries reported, according to Town of Riverhead officials. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

“It’s an open investigation at this point, and I have nothing further on the actual status of that investigation,” Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost said.

Rudy Sunderman, commissioner of Suffolk County FRES, said that residents within a four-mile radius were advised to keep their windows closed, but as of 1 p.m., there was no active threat – although air monitoring was not part of the emergency response, according to NYSDEC Assistant Regional Director Ryan McGarry.

“Air monitoring is not part of the emergency response,” McGarry said. “We can only air monitor where we have existing air monitors in place in the vicinity. I do know outreach was done to higher levels of government to see if they have that technology and equipment. Our main thus far has been from a spill standpoint.”

Regarding threats like asbestos, McGarry added there is no reason to believe there was asbestos in the building at the time of the fire, although when what remains of the building is safe to enter, the DEC will look to see if any records of asbestos materials survived. Crown Sanitation, according to DEC permits, is permitted to take up to 185 cubic yards of asbestos a day.

“They have a permit to transfer asbestos,” McGarry said. “It’s our understanding, based on preliminary reports that no asbestos was on site.”

Crown Sanitation is privately owned and operated, but in contract with the Town of Riverhead for recycling. Colucci Carting does the pickups and brings them to Crown Sanitation, who then ship it off to Pennsylvania.

According to Riverhead Fire Marshal Liam Keating, the building did not have smoke detectors.

“The facility is pre-existing,” Keating said. “There are specific fire code requirements for that, but this facility did not, to my understanding, have smoke detectors within there. I would have to look up [potential violations] between the town code enforcement, fire marshal’s office and the other site plan violations.”

Residents reported hearing several explosions throughout the night as the fire went on, and officials confirmed “little pops” had occurred, but could not yet pinpoint the source.

Regarding the state of Riverhead recycling, it’s cancelled for the week but will resume next week.

“They’ll be ready,” Riverhead Supervisor Timothy Hubbard said. “They’ll make provisions to have either containers or something where they can put them in and transfer them out to other locations.”