The improper disposal of batteries is suspected to have started a fire at Orrington’s trash facility last week.
According to Maine Department of Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss, fire investigators found that the blaze started in the reclaim area in Tuesday’s fire that burned for hours. The reclaim area is a 20,000 square foot area where trash is stored after it’s sorted.
An investigation by the state’s fire marshals office indicates there may have been multiple items such as batteries in that area that sparked the fire, which was the second in the past two years at Eagle Point Energy Recovery Center.
The first indication that something had gone wrong in Orrington last Tuesday night was reports of smoke near the Eagle Point Energy Center.
By the time the Orrington Fire Department got to the trash plant around 9:15 p.m., there was “heavy smoke and fire” at the facility, Chief Scott Stewart said.
A fire alarm system was never activated at the 40-year-old trash plant because it does not have one, Stewart said.
The Orrington Fire Department learned during the last fire at EPEC — which lasted 10 days in October 2024 — that the sheer amount of water needed to put out the flames was more than the hydrants at the plant would be able to handle, Stewart said.
The fire was knocked down around 3 a.m. Wednesday, and most of the mutual aid departments were released around 6 a.m., Stewart said. The fire was under control around noon Wednesday, he said.
No one was injured during the firefighting response.
BDN writer Marie Weidmayer contributed to this report.
