Recycling plant fire activates public safety alert
By Doug Ancey and Jennifer Ames
A four-alarm fire burned the ECS Refining recycling plant in Santa Clara yesterday, sending smoke and fumes over Santa Clara University, where students and employees were advised to seek shelter indoors. The fire, at 705 Reed St., was restricted to ECS's yard, and did not reach surrounding buildings. The facility was evacuated, and there were no injuries reported. The Santa Clara ECS facility recycles hazardous and non-hazardous electronic and photographic industry "e-waste." The fire produced thick black smoke and a pungent smell from burning plastic. Bay Area Air Quality Management District investigators determined that there was no toxic risk from the fire.
A public safety alert was distributed by telephone and text message, warning students, businesses and nearby residents to stay inside to avoid breathing the smoke. The shelter-in-place message is a new system used by the city, explained Santa Clara Hazardous Materials Administrator David Parker, and the bugs are still being worked out.
While the message reached many of the intended recipients, some outside of the intended area were contacted, causing some schools to unnecessarily hold students past dismissal time. Santa Clara's pool was closed for the rest of the day as well in order to keep swimmers and lifeguards inside.
The warning was lifted everywhere by 3:20 p.m.
Santa Clara resident Daniel Bailey was at a neighboring dog park when the blaze began. Like many nearby residents, Bailey was concerned for his health as he and his dog, Bella, breathed in the smoke.
"They warned us to 'leave now, or you won't be able to leave for a while,' but as soon as we got into our cars they told us it was too late, so now we are stuck here," Bailey said.
More than 80 firefighters responded from Santa Clara, San Jose and Mountain View, according to Parker.
While company officials initially blamed the blaze on sunlight shining through a camera lens that ignited cardboard, ECS Refining President Jim Taggart later speculated that an overhead projector was to blame.
As technology becomes outdated, the plant receives more projectors for recycling from schools, Taggart said.
He added that although the fire didn't cause any structural damage, the yard's drains were unable to accommodate the water from fire hoses and the company's office flooded after the fire.
The official cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Parker.
Investigators could not complete their work until the fire was completely extinguished. Fire crews planned to remain at the scene all night to prevent the fire from rekindling, he said.