Fire agencies say fire at Daviess County Landfill did not involve explosion
Plumes of smoke whipped through the air.
Officials say despite the first report, there was no sign of an actual explosion.
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'Since it's construction debris, there could have been some kind of container or cylinder in there that exploded, but there was nothing malicious or anything like that,' the Assistant Chief of the fire department, Eric Coleman.
Officials say the organic material paired with moisture and heat from vehicles can cause spontaneous combustion. Fires of this kind are typically caught early by landfill staff but this time the fire sparked after hours. When fire crews arrived, there was no one on site to stop it.
'[Landfill staff] know way more about the landfill than we do… the nuances that come with that. So, we kind of depend upon their expertise,' says Camo.
DCFD responds alongside all volunteer fire departments. This time they responded with the Saint Joseph Fire Department.
'Our guys just kind of stood by with hose lines to protect the heavy equipment as they put dirt on the fire,' says Coleman.
Landfill staff arrived to load a dump truck with dirt and pile it over the flames.
Traditional methods like water don't do much here. That's because landfill fires burn several feet deep under layers of material.
'Our water can't penetrate down into that. it takes heavy equipment to either dig down or put dirt on top of it to smother the fire,' says Coleman.
No one was injured and it took about 2 hours to put out. Firefighters stayed close to protect equipment and the crew from the open flames.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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