Crime & Safety

Mulch Fire at DPW Yard Rages Over 9 Hours

Heat generated within mountain of mulch caused it to ignite, the fire chief said.

Heat that was generated deep inside a mountain of mulch at the borough on John Avenue led to a series of fires in the mulch over the weekend that took 13 firefighters about nine hours and 60,000 gallons of soapy water to bring under control, Madison's fire chief said.

The fires started on Saturday from spontaneous combustion due to the heat and continued through the weekend, with the most recent fire breaking out around 1 a.m. Sunday, Chief Lou DeRosa said.

The mulch pile was still smoldering Monday morning and was being moved into smaller piles to prevent future fires from starting, DeRosa said.

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The DPW provided a front-end loader and operator to assist the fire department with opening up and moving portions of the pile so the fire could be exposed, DeRosa said. No injuries were reported.


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