Landfill fire investigated

BERGHOLZ - An early morning equipment fire at the Apex Landfill has been termed "suspicious" by Apex Operations Manager Rick Barr.

Barr said a security guard spotted the blaze at 12:30 a.m. today "on the tipper, which is a piece of equipment used to remove waste from long-haul truck trailers."

"Security at the landfill immediately contacted local fire departments as well as our landfill staff. Firefighters from the Kilgore, Amsterdam and Bergholz fire departments responded to the alarm and quickly contained the fire," said Barr.

He noted he did not have an estimate for the equipment damaged by the fire.

"At this point we are treating the fire as suspicious. There is an engine on the tipper, but the blaze apparently started away from the engine compartment.

"It was not near anything that operated mechanically.

"We also find it suspicious because the long-haul solid waste is not usually combustible by the time it arrives at the landfill. This was all very odd," said Barr.

"We are treating this fire as arson. I have instructed my staff to contact the area law enforcement officials and to ask for an investigation," said Barr.

He said he does not know if the state fire marshal has been called to investigate the fire.

Fire department personnel at the Kilgore, Bergholz and Amsterdam volunteer fire departments could not be reached for comment today.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)