Another day, another industrial fire in East Syracuse. Like many other village residents I was unaware of the massive conflagration that was taking place just blocks from my home early Tuesday morning. It wasn’t until I attempted to take a shower and found little water pressure that I realized something was wrong. For reasons yet unknown a large building belonging to Syracuse Recycling caught fire and burned uncontrollably for hours. I pass by this building nearly every day on the way home from work and never thought much about it. Last week I noticed for the first time how much plastic and cardboard was jammed into the building. Massive piles of material were spilling out of the doors. At the time I had an overwhelming feeling that a fire was just around the corner. I guess I should start telling fortunes at the NYS State Fair this summer!
I always enjoyed looking at the Syracuse Recycling building and dreaming about using it to store an ever growing classic semi truck collection. The high ceilings with massive sliding doors at the front of rear of the building. Turn of the century mason work located in an industrial part of town so no one cares how many rigs you have piling up in the yard. Direct rail access for shipment of those really big trucks. Oh well! Time to find another location.
Looking at the steel beams that were part of the roof system give you an idea how hot this fire burned. They have twisted and bent like a wet noodle. I found large pieces (about 4 inches in size) of burnt plastic or cardboard in my backyard and the surrounding streets. All told I am 1/2 a mile from the location of the fire.
At one point in time this building was used by various railroads to service trains and railcars. I believe the last train based company to utilize the building was the rail maintenance company Pandrol Jackson. Above you can you can see the remains of a burned front loader. Looks like a Cat to me?