EXCLUSIVE REPORT: A 30-gallon barrels of an initially unknown substance caught fire late last night outside a Lyndhurst chemical company that produces polyurethane.
“The fire was knocked down quickly, but we had no idea what was burning,” Lyndhurst Fire Chief Paul Haggerty Jr. told CLIFFVIEW PILOT just after midnight.
He was awaiting word from a Bergen County Hazardous Materials crew that had just arrived.
The blaze in the barrel ignited just before 11:45 p.m. at Polyurethane Specialties Co. in the 600 block of Schuyler Avenue, Haggerty said.
Workers tried to extinguish it but then called Lyndhurst firefighters.
The state Department of Environmental Protection was expected to be notified.
The site was the scene of an evacuation of neighborhood homes — and the treatment of several people — after an acid was released into the air.
Pipes used to transfer the adipic acid powder failed, releasing the substance through roof ducts.
Polyurethane Specialties was established in Lyndhurst in 1983, records show.
The company makes what are known as polyurethane “intermediates,” including polyester polyols, polyurethane prepolymers and specialty polyurethane coatings. Products that use these include spandex fibers, adhesives, roller blade wheels, photocopiers and coatings used for blimps.
