A five-alarm Staten Island blaze at the edge of the former Fresh Kills Landfill could rage for the next few days, authorities said tonight.
Two hundred firefighters are fighting to control the inferno, which was already a quarter mile by a half mile in size in a compost area near the West Shore Expressway, according to FDNY officials. It snarled traffic for hours.
The blaze started in a section of debris where the Sanitation Department dumped collected wood chips, leaves and Christmas trees, authorities said.
The dry weather, yesterday’s gusts of winds that have reached between 30 and 40 mph and piles of mulch fed the massive blaze, which began around 11 a.m.
Fire marshals are investigating the cause.
“We’re going to be here through the night or a couple of days,” said Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Marrone of the Staten Island Borough Command. “[We] are breaking up these piles of burning materials which are about 15 to 20 feet high.”
Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries at Staten Island University Hospital North.
The blaze has not crossed from the edge of the former dump to the West Shore Expressway or affected any residential areas.