EMR Recycling Fire Quickly Extinguished by Camden Firefighters

CAMDEN – A fire in shredder waste, called "fluff," was battled by city firefighters on Monday evening in the scrap metal recycling yard of the Eastern Metal Recycling (EMR) operations at 1500 South Sixth Street.

The fire was extinguished in less than an hour, Camden Fire Department Chief Jesse Flax told TAPinto Camden on Tuesday.

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Monday's fire was far smaller than the one at EMR in January 2021 that sent smoke into neighborhoods and took about a day to extinguish. EMR was fined $89,750 by Camden County and $7,500 by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the 2021 fire that the state said "emitted into the outdoor atmosphere in quantities which resulted in air pollution."

Chief Flax said the fire from the combustible fluff produced smoke that went up into the air rather than staying low to the ground and spreading to neighborhoods like the 2021 fire.

Vincent Basara, the city's communications director, said notification of the fire was quickly sent out to residents and the city had not received complaints as of late Tuesday morning.

Chief Flax said the EMR fire was held to a single alarm at 5:38 p.m. and involved 21 firefighters. No one was injured. Equipment was used to break down the pile of waste so firefighters could water down the fluff.

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He said he would be inspecting the site and meeting with EMR representatives.

"They've made a commitment to address a lot of the concerns we had," he said of previous meetings with company officials.

EMR Recycling | 1500 South Sixth Street

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