Auburn firefighter Stephen Almquist takes a break Monday from battling a fire at Almighty Waste on Washington Street North. A cause had not been determined Tuesday, a fire official said. Anna Gouveia/Sun Journal
AUBURN — The cause of debris fire at Almighty Waste on Monday evening remains undetermined, Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Fifield said Tuesday.
Local firefighters responded shortly before 5:30 p.m. to 712 Washington St. North to a pile of burning debris about 60 feet high and roughly 80 feet wide. A plume of smoke could be seen from several miles away, Fifield said.
He said the blazing mound consisted of “all kinds of different trash debris.”
A smaller pile at the site also was ablaze, he said.
Firefighters hosed down the piles from a ladder truck while the waste company two excavators to pull debris from the piles.
The fires were extinguished and firefighters cleared the scene in about two hours, Fifield said.
A section of Washington Street North was closed to traffic by police part of that time.
“We haven’t completed the investigation in its entirety, but it’s probably going to go undetermined,” Fifield said. There’s no reason for it to be considered suspicious, he said.
The department’s fire investigator was expected to inspect the pile to determine exactly what materials were burning. He said there was no concern that hazardous materials were involved.
Lewiston and New Gloucester fire departments assisted due to the heat wave that enveloped the region, allowing firefighters to cool down, hydrate and recover during operations, he said.
Mechanic Falls and Poland fire departments backed up the local fire stations.
According to the company’s website, Almighty Waste provides waste management, recycling, demolition, container, dumpster and curbside trash pickup services.
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