Fire burns North Brunswick warehouse

Residents of North Brunswick and surrounding towns are asked to continue conserving water as a five-alarm fire at a North Brunswick warehouse has been deemed contained. According to reports, the blaze is visible from space.

Fire at a North Brunswick warehouse fire (courtesy Tom Kaminski WCBS Chopper 880)

North Brunswick Fire Chief Donald Salzmann, at a late afternoon press conference, declared the the fire to be about 85 percent extinguished. The blaze, fueled by plastics, automobiles and household goods, broke out around 2 a..m. at a large warehouse on Livingston Avenue as being 85 percent out. A recent Associated Press story indicates that the fire is now visible from space.

Displaced residents will not be allowed to return home on Wednesday night due to concerns about smoke in the area.The Environmental Protection Agency, which has monitored the air all day says the air is safe. "The chemical plume is invisible and that's going up...the dangerous stuff is going up," said EPA representative Dwayne Harrington, carrying it out of harm's way. The chemicals in the warehouse included chlorine, phosgene, and hydrogen cyanide according to Harrington.

The DCH Collision Center and seven other businesses are also have facilities in the 85-year-old building warehouse. 44 enginess, 36 tankers and 10 ladders are still on the scene. From the air on Wednesday morning pilot Tom Kaminski reports seeing steel supports that melted from the heat of the blaze. Much of what is burning in the building is plastics, tires and car parts and air is being monitored for quality by the Middlesex County Hazardous Material Unit.

William Liang, platform vice president at DCH Auto Group, told MyCentralJersey.com that they had not used the warehouse space since June. "No customer vehicles were involved in the fire," posted the dealership on its Facebook page. The service center is closed but the sales area is open.

Residents may experience low water pressure according to Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack and are asked to conserve their usage. An alert issued by the Township of North Brunswick cautions that water may appear to be discolored. Residents are urged to keep doors and windows closed and not to use air conditioners

Firefighters had difficulty controlling the flames which created smoke that could be seen 150 miles from space. Salzmann says the fire quickly overtook a sprinkler system and spread from one end of the building to the other. One fire fighter suffered a hand injury.

Smoke from the warehouse fire in North Brunswick as seen from Toms River (Marianne Levy, Townsquare Media NJ)

One resident told CBS New York they heard several explosions before the fire started. “I heard a boom. It had sparked coming and pieces of even the warehouse in front of our lawn," said the witness.

75 people have been evacuated as a precaution to the Linwood Middle School where the American Red Cross opened a reception center.

Radar image shows smoke from the North Brunswick fire (Radarscope)

The fire is also near NJ Transit's Jersey Avenue station which police expected to be affected by the fire. However, service was suspended on the line due to an overhead wire problem and resumed after 7 a.m.

The ramp from Route 1 northbound to Livingston Avenue has been closed.

Investigators must wait for the fire to be extinguished before they can begin their investigation into the cause.

Video of the fire in the early morning by Toniann Antonelli, Townsquare Media NJ