Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews were "working nonstop" to battle a massive blaze more than a day after it broke out at a waste-to-energy plant in Doral, the county's mayor said Monday.
Around 150 firefighters were still fighting the blaze Monday, more than 24 hours after it erupted at the Miami-Dade County Resources Recovery Facility, a renewable energy center, located near Northwest 70 Street and Northwest 97 Avenue.
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"They're doing everything they can as quickly as possible to eliminate the fire," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
MASSIVE DORAL FIRE
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Of the 11 buildings at the facility, four caught fire, and two were still burning Tuesday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah said.
"We are down to basically two buildings that are currently on fire. These two are an extreme challenge," Jadallah said. "One building has two walls that are starting to cave in, preventing us from accessing the building. The second building we have no access to get fire trucks or hose lines as a result of the warping metal and the imminent collapse."
Levine Cava said crews are monitoring the air quality, and said the Environmental Protection Agency was coming at their request.
"All tests we are conducting have come back clear. There is no dangerous presence in the smoke," Levine Cava said.
Jadallah said crews were sent two miles downwind to make sure it's clear and have received zero readings for the presence of hazardous materials.
Florida Rising, a grassroots nonprofit voting organization, is concerned about the area and the billowing smoke clouds being pushed upwind into other communities.
"Right now our biggest fear and concern is the health and safety of the people in our community," said Sebastian Caicedo, with Florida Rising. He also lives in the area and said he's wary of preliminary county reporting that no hazardous chemicals are being released into the air.
"What are the repercussions of this fire? Residents have been dealing with this garbage incinerator for over 40 years," Caicedo said. "Now they're dealing with the fire in the middle of the neighborhood so we don't know the long-term issues."
The mayor said the area around the plant was still smoky, and anyone who didn't need to be in the area was advised to avoid it if possible.
Residents have also been advised to stay indoors if possible and keep their windows closed.
Jadallah said it's believed the fire started on a conveyor belt but said they're still reviewing surveillance footage.
Levine Cava said they're still assessing the full impact to waste pickup and are rerouting trash collection so there should be no delays in trash pickup.
No firefighters have been injured, but officials said it's unknown how long it will take to put the fire out.
"We continue to operate at this fire and I know that, you know many of the questions is how long will this fire burn, we're still just not there yet, we'll be able to reassess tomorrow morning and be able to come up with some form of answer," Jadallah said.
