Exterior Fire Extinguished at Minnesota Recycling Plant

Surveillance video shows a suspect setting fire to a compressed bale of paper Saturday night at a recycling plant in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a local newspaper reports.

It took firefighters nearly two hours to bring the fire under control and almost five hours before the last flames were extinguished at the Pioneer Industries recycling plant, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Firefighters arrived shortly after 11 p.m. to find a large exterior fire consisting of burning cardboard and pallets, the Minneapolis Fire Department reports. The fire hindered responders in gaining access to the recycling plant building.

Because the material on fire was next to railroad tracks through the facility rail traffic was immediately halted.

Portable ground monitors were used on the east side of the fire while fire truck mounted deck guns and an aerial ladder were placed on the west side, firefighters said. A water relay using an aerial ladder and a pumper were later established on the east side.

Firefighters used a hand line to cool exposed diesel tanks on the east side during the fire.

After bringing the main fire under control, firefighter used heavy equipment to move the burning material apart to hit the individual piles with master streams and hand lines.