Suffield Fire Dept. Captain: Babylon Recycling Fire Not Intentional

The Oct. 4 fire at Babylon Recycling Center was unintentional according to Suffield Fire Department Captain Mike Thibedeau.

The fire's exact cause is not known and likely won't be determined because the blaze was not purposefully started. Thibedeau cited the increased amount of industrial debris and garbage at the facility as a contributing factor to the fire. Babylon had more material on hand than is usual due to the recent severe weather, including Hurricane Irene, and resultant damage in the area.

Materials that were hazardous or shouldn't have been stored together may have contributed to the fire in Babylon's storage bay No. 7, located in Windsor Locks. Babylon's street address, offices and first two storage bays are located in Suffield.

Babylon has dealt with fires in the past, including one in Sept. 2010, according to the Hartford Courant. That official cause of that fire was a spontaneous combustion.

The fire was originally called in around 6 p.m. on Oct. 4 and wasn't completely under control until 8 a.m. on Oct. 5, requiring some 14 hours of firefighting. Some parts of the affected debris were still smoldering, although wholly under control, when emergency personnel finally left the scene.

Thibedeau said one of the major challenges in battling this fire was managing the time spent by firefighters on the scene.

"It was extensive," he said. "[Fighting the fire] required a lot of man hours."

Emergency personnel used bulldozers to move debris outside the storage bay and look for hot spots. Plumes of smoke were obscured by the night sky but carried the burning scent across the surrounding area. They also had to cut open skylights in the building to aid ventilation and create a safer working environment for the responders. Cutting the skylights aided ventilation without compromising the building's structural integrity.

Thibedeau called the fire "the first real good chance" to utilize a mutual aid cooperative between many area fire departments.

Firefighters and emergency personnel from Suffield, Windsor Locks, East Granby, Granby, the Windsor neighborhood of Poquonock, Bradley International Airport, Bloomfield and the Blue Hills community of Hartford and Bloomfield are members of the mutual aid group that aided in controlling the fire.

Additionally, firefighters from Enfield manned Suffield fire stations during the firefighting action, providing a safety net in case additional emergencies occured in town.