Cause of massive Hillsborough fire undetermined

• Fire started Thursday afternoon. Loud explosions reported hours later.
• Smoke still could be seen for miles on Friday.
• Two firefighters injured. No cause of fire reported.

HILLSBOROUGH - Officials do not know the cause of a spectacular fire that destroyed about a half-million square feet of warehouse space in a Route 206 industrial park.

Officials will have to wait until the fire cools off before beginning the investigation into the cause, Chris Weniger, the township's chief fire marshall, said at a press conference Friday afternoon.

The fire destroyed two 240,000-square-foot warehouses in the Veterans Industrial Park on Route 206 between the Norfolk Southern Railroad and Duke Farms.

The fire was centered in units that contained plastic pellets used in moulding and wood products.

The fire, which erupted Thursday afternoon and continues to smolder, was one of the biggest blazes in recent Somerset County history. The billowing black smoke could be seen for dozens of miles and the plume could be detected on weather radar.

Firefighters from 30 departments in five counties responded to the scene, Mayor Frank DelCore said.

“We’re getting a tremendous amount of support from our neighboring communities,” Weniger said.

At one time on Thursday, about 200 fire vehicles were on the scene, the mayor said.

Many of the vehicles were tankers that dumped water on the blaze. About six to 10 ladder trucks sprayed the flames in the wooden structures from above.

Hillsborough mayor on warehouse fire: 'It's going to be a tough night'

"We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all of the volunteers," DelCore said, adding that the firefighters had to endure fierce winds and freezing temperatures.

"It's been a long 24 hours," DelCore said Friday afternoon.

Firefighters worked in 10- to 12-hour shifts at the scene, Weniger said. A full list of the responding fire companies will be released once the blaze is extinguished.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, DelCore said. One had a leg injury and the other had an eye injury. Their identities and fire departments were not released.

Firefighters responded to the scene after receiving an alarm that the sprinkler system had been activated, Weniger said.

On Thursday at the height of the blaze, firefighters struggled to prevent the flames from spreading to other buildings as they battled temperatures of around 20 degrees that threatened their equipment. As late as Thursday evening, ground-shaking explosions could still be heard from the site as glowing debris shot high into the sky.

Firefighters were busy not only battling the warehouse blaze but nearby fires that were started by embers blown in the 20 mph winds. One firefighter estimated that 20 small blazes were extinguished and firefighters were able to prevent the embers from igniting at least two other structures.

Though township schools were closed on Friday, all school-related activities scheduled for the weekend will be held, the mayor said.

Route 206, which was closed between Dukes Parkway West and Camplain Road shortly after the fire broke out Thursday afternoon, reopened at about 4 p.m. Friday, Police Chief Darren Powell said.

The highway closure caused massive traffic jams Thursday evening throughout the center of Somerset County as motorists fought to find alternate routes.

The highway reopened for Friday's morning rush hour but was closed later in the morning because of hoses stretched to hydrants on Brown Avenue.

No public health threat

Dr. Glen Belnay, the township's health officer, said that the smoke plume posed no public health threat.

He did, however, advise residents living downwind from the fire to remain "sheltered in place" until the smoke dissipates.

Bob Van Fossen, director of emergency management for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said air-quality monitors were set up shortly after the fire broke out.

Van Fossen said late Friday morning that the monitors, downwind from the fire on Sunnymead and Camplain roads in Hillsborough and Manville, detected only low levels of carbon monoxide and particulates, which is to be expected in a fire.

The levels spiked around 6 a.m. Friday because of a temperature inversion around dawn, but that was expected and the levels dropped quickly again, he said.

Friday's sunny weather and winds helped to disperse the smoke, Van Fossen said.

Sunnymead Elementary School, about a mile from the fire, was in the direct line of the smoke plume. Van Fossen said it was a "prudent decision" to close the schools.

The DEP will continue to monitor the air quality through the weekend or whenever the fire is completely extinguished.

The fire is not adjacent to the warehouses where the federal government stored 60 percent of the nation's stockpile of mercury until 2010, DelCore said.

Hundreds of burgers

Township businesses were doing their part to support the volunteer firefighters. For example, two fast-food restaurants on Route 206 provided hundreds of hamburgers to firefighters Thursday evening.

A volunteer walked to Burger King's takeout window at about 9:15 p.m. Thursday and asked for 200; the restaurant had already provided 200 hamburgers.

When a manager said the restaurant was closing early because there were only 10 hamburgers left, the volunteer then went across the highway to McDonald's, which then gave hundreds of hamburgers.

Caffe Pizza and Star Diner were offering free lunch on Friday to emergency responders. Starglow Salon was also offering free haircuts for emergency responders.

Other businesses — including Culinary Creations, Catered Affair, Wawa, Pizza Brothers, Dunkin' Donuts, Sal's Pizza and QuickChek — provided food. Tri-State Business Systems bought food to be delivered to firefighters.

“The Salvation Army has been on the ground addressing the needs of those who have been responding to the fire as well as those impacted,” said Maj. Ivan K. Rock, state commander of The Salvation Army New Jersey Division. “We want people to know that we are here for the community and will be there if additional assistance is required.”

The Salvation Army canteen — mobile feeding unit — was on-hand to provide beverages and meals for first responders at a nearby location. Canteens are equipped to serve up to 1,500 hot meals per day.

In Manville, the Elks Club and Manville Pizza provided food.

Duke Farms, which neighbors the industrial park on the north, was closed on Friday.

Veterans Industrial Park, 152 Route 206, is a 20-acre site with at least 12 buildings that sits next to the township's Harold Docherty Park. Some of the tenants include Somerset County Board of Elections — where voting machines are stored — Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, Operation Shoebox, Royal Cabinet Company, PJ's Express, USA Container, Stonehenge Countertops, RBC Cable Technologies, AAA Trucking and Warehousing, Harborlite Distribution, National Lecithin, Prestige Millworks and Mid State Packaging.

The site was formerly the Somerville National Defense stockpile depot, where 2,800 tons of mercury were stored — 60 percent of the nation's stockpile. After the mercury was transferred to a federal facility in Nevada in 2010, the property was converted into an industrial park. The property is still owned by the federal government.

Favorites, the first off-track betting facility in Somerset County, opened last fall on Route 206 at the entrance of the industrial park.

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Contributing: The Associated Press

Staff Writer Sergio Bichao: 908-243-6615; sbichao@gannettnj.com

Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@gannettnj.com