A massive fire tore through a Greenpoint newspaper recycling plant overnight on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, leaving plumes of acrid smoke hanging over the neighborhood.
The fire at Rapid Processing Recycling Plant, which is on the corner of Humboldt Street and Greenpoint Avenue, started just after 7 pm on Tuesday night. The blaze drew 169 firefighters from 39 units as it raged through the night, completely destroying the facility. Firefighters finally got it under control at 8:49 am on Wednesday, but continued to douse hot spots throughout the day. Neighbors say they could see and smell the conflagration half a mile away.
“It really stunk,” said Greenpoint resident Michael Hoffman.
Hoffman said that neighbors have been encouraging each other to call 311 to ask the city to test for toxins in the ashes of the plant.
“That stuff will stay around for life,” said Hoffman. “We need to know what is in there.”
One firefighter suffered a minor injury while battling the blaze, according to a fire official.
The fire department is still investigating the cause of the inferno.
