Pallet fire in Sampson prompts response from five counties

A pallet fire in northern Sampson County ripped through a massive plot of land on Tuesday, prompting response from dozens of emergency agencies from five counties to contain the blaze, work that was still happening Wednesday as the fire was expected to continue to smolder over the next several days.

Firefighters were called to Ira B. Tart Road just minutes before 4 p.m. Tuesday for a pallet fire that produced tall flames and a dense, black plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. A number of units, led by Plain View Volunteer Fire Department, arrived to find a large area of dried-out pallet piles burning.

In total, there was approximately 15 acres of stacked pallets and pallet scrap, termed as mulch, burned in the area, located east of I-95 near Dunn, Sampson County Fire Marshal Prentice Madgar said. There were no major injuries as a result of the fire, Madgar noted.

“The fire is contained,” said Madgar, who noted it has burned pretty steady since it began Tuesday afternoon. “It’s nowhere near as intense as it was, because you lost so much of it, but it’s still burning. There’s still an active fire out there.”

Mutual aid was called for once first responders arrived, and hundreds of personnel from various agencies provided assistance in fighting and containing the fire during the dry heat of a 90 degree day. According to authorities, nearby natural water sources, including ponds, were utilized to supply tankers in order to beat back the flames. Tractor plows were also used to establish a fire line perimeter and contain the blaze while it burned out.

A specific cause of the fire was not immediately known and was being investigated, however authorities were waiting for the fire to burn out to get into the area of origin.

“There’s just so much of it out there, it’s going to take a while for it to burn down,” said Madgar. “It’s probably going to be next week before we can actually get into the mulch yard. It’s going to have to finish burning and cool off before we can even get in there and try to figure out what pile started first.”

The location of the fire was Discount Pallet Services. Madgar said it was the third fire in the last six years at that particular mulch yard, where the broken and scrap pallets are kept before being chipped up.

Madgar estimated about 30 fire departments — and well over 100 individual responders — converged on the Ira B. Tart Road from five different counties, including Sampson, Harnett, Johnston, Cumberland and Duplin.

Among those fire units that assisted Plain View firefighters were Spivey’s Corner, Newton Grove, Vann Crossroads, Clement, Herring, Autryville, Godwin-Falcon, Warsaw, Faison, Benson, Meadow, Four Oaks, Brogden, Kenly, Cornith Holders, Erwin, Benhaven, Buies Creek, Coats Grove, Albertson, Calypso, Oak Wolfe, Pleasant Grove, Wade and Sarecta.

Sampson County EMS, Dunn Emergency Services, the Sampson County Fire Marshal’s Office and the NC Forest Service were also among the many agencies on the scene. Madgar was headed back to the scene Wednesday.

“It’s going to be smoking in the area for several more days,” said Madgar, “but the fire departments and forestry are keeping an eye on it, and we are.”