Officials: New Jersey fire contained, main building at industrial complex destroyed

Officials downgraded the fire on the campus of Qualco from 11 alarms to four alarms on Saturday morning. The fire is contained but not under control as winds continue to whip up the flames.

News 12 Staff

Jan 15, 2022, 11:12 AM

Updated 995 days ago

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A large fire that tore through an industrial complex in Passaic has been contained but not yet extinguished.
Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost told News 12 that dozens of firefighters are still on the scene working on hotspots.
The fire ignited a storage space housing chlorine pellets and threatened to burn into a chemical factory.
By the time firefighters arrived, the building housing Majestic Industries was engulfed in flame. There were concerns of the blaze spreading to the adjacent chlorine factory and posing a potential air quality hazard to those nearby.
"The goal was achieved. We had a very large chlorine factory here that we were able to contain and cut the fire off before it got in the main building," said Trentacost.
Every 20 minutes, chemists from the company have been assessing the state of the chlorine factory, making sure there are no chemical reactions. Air quality is deemed acceptable by the Department of Environmental Protection and the state.
The main building, built in 1906, was destroyed. More than 200 firefighters from multiple counties worked at the site, some suffering from slip-and-fall injuries caused by fire-quenching water and frigid weather conditions.
Mayor Hector Lora says an air quality alert is no longer in effect and people can come out of their homes. However, air quality continues to be monitored by the DEP.
Officials say there were no serious injuries related to the incident. Its cause was not immediately available.