Today’s request: Officials provide updates on recent trash fire at PERC facility in Orrington

Officials provide updates on recent trash fire at PERC facility in Orrington

Updates on the trash fire at the former Orrington PERC site are given by officials. Because of the smoke, officials are advising everyone living in Orrington, Brewer, Bangor, Bucksport, and Hampden to keep their windows closed.

According to a press statement from the Orrington Fire Department, residents living nearby to the former PERC site are being advised to keep their windows closed due to heavy smoke emissions from a fire that occurred last night.

Residents of Orrington, Brewer, Bangor, Bucksport, and Hampden are advised to heed this warning. A few locals claimed to be experiencing the effects of the smoke. “We simply reside where it happened—right down the street. It’s really hazy, so you should wear a mask when you walk outside, Jen Abbott, an Orrington resident, said. “I was genuinely sickened by that this morning. Basically, you want to stay inside and have your windows down both inside and outside.” As of Wednesday, personnel remained on the scene of the fire. Scott Stewart, the fire chief for Orrington, said that while the fire is confined, it will take many days to completely go out. “We’re trying to maintain that confinement as well as limit the risk to the public from the smoke that it’s producing,” Stewart said.

According to the Brewer Fire Department, which spoke with NEWS CENTER Maine, tankers from nearby towns including Brewer, Bangor, Holden, Eddington, Dedham, Hermon, Hampden, and Levant were called in to assist with the multi-agency response to the fire since it was believed that the hydrant system was not functioning. The Brewer Fire Department reports that during the day on Monday, there was a small fire at the plant. The following health precautions are recommended for people in the region by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection: Remain indoors and out of the smoke. Maintain as much clean indoor air as you can. Keep doors and windows closed. Keep your air conditioner off. To avoid drawing air from the outside, turn off air handling and recirculating equipment and make sure filters are installed.

Representative Dan Cashman for Eagle Point Energy Center said in a statement late on Tuesday night to NEWS CENTER Maine that “negligible damage to the facility was sustained” in the fire. According to Cashman, the fire is thought to have started from a lithium-ion battery that was abandoned at the PERC plant. Stewart stated that the cause is still being looked at by the fire department. “PERC improperly disposed of nearly 8,000 tons of solid waste, polluting the site before creditors foreclosed on the facility in May of 2023,” the statement continued. “EPEC and the Town of Orrington have invested more than $500,000 on site remediation since acquiring the plant. The Town of Orrington and EPEC applaud the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for maintaining its position that polluters such as PERC will face consequences.