Firefighters battle raging PERC blaze

ORRINGTON – Fire crews from four towns were battling an out of control fire in the Penobscot Energy Recovery Co.’s trash to energy plant on Route 15 early Wednesday. No injuries were initially reported.

The PERC plant’s fire brigade attempted to snuff the blaze in the plant’s reclaim room and failed before calling for help shortly after midnight, Orrington Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Spencer said. The football field-sized reclaim room is where waste is initially placed before being burned.

As many as 50 firefighters from Bucksport, Holden, Brewer and Orrington were crowded around the 3-stories-tall building fighting the blaze. Thick black smoke could be seen pouring from an open fire-escape doorway about three stories high. Firefighters also crowded around a ledge near the door.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but workers suspected that colliding metal wastes might have sparked. The fire was still raging as of 1 p.m.

The Route 15 plant services about 160 communities in Maine.

(Nok-Noi Hauger, BDN)