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Recycling-plant Police and fire investigators determined today that a fire at the state's only tire-recycling facility yesterday was accidentally set.
fire accidental,
officials say
Yesterday's fire, unrelated to
one at the plant 2 weeks ago,
did $250,000 damageBy Rosemarie Bernardo
and Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinBased on the surveillance tapes at Unitek Environmental Services Inc. at Campbell Industrial Park, metal from the tires became heated during shredding and started the fire, fire department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo said. Metal began smoldering in a pile of fine tire chips, he said.
The fire reported yesterday at 9:25 a.m. caused $250,000 in damage to one of Unitek's three tire-recycling machines.
A fire in the same area two weeks ago caused $10,000 to $15,000 damage, according to Unitek's owner, Blane Yamagata. At first, investigators suspected yesterday's fire was suspicious because of the other fire, but now they believe the other fire at the facility is unrelated, Soo said.
Surveillance tapes didn't show anybody around the area prior to the start of the fire, he said. The plant manager has to look at enhanced effort to avoid a recurrence, Soo said.
Soo said 22 firefighters and investigators and a hazardous materials company responded to the fire, which was under control in 17 minutes.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and police detectives also responded because of the previous fires.
Yamagata said Unitek would accept tires today, although its recycling capability would be limited.
"We'd rather the tires be here" than have people dump them illegally, he said.
Although the company was able to handle repair costs after the fire two weeks ago, this time it will have to file a claim with the insurance company. "We have no choice. This is significant damage," Yamagata said.
Both fires involved a tire shredder, or granulator, which breaks the tires into small pieces to be burned as fuel by AES Barbers Point, next door to Unitek. Each tire can be recycled into fuel equivalent to 1 gallon of oil, Yamagata said.
In November 1998, a fire caused $150,000 damage to computers and filing systems in a portable building used as an office, Yamagata said.
Unitek is also the state's largest petroleum recycler, processing solvent, oil, antifreeze and oily waste water. Although there were 80,000-gallon storage tanks and fuel tanks for the plant's generator nearby, they weren't harmed, Yamagata said.
The plant, separated from a public beach by a wire fence, has been the target of numerous robberies during the past two years, mostly tools and small equipment.
The company has 23 employees at the Campbell Industrial Park facility, but no one was at work yesterday. All the machines run on a generator turned off since Saturday afternoon.