CLAYTON, Ind. – Multiple crews responded to a massive fire at Ray’s Trash Service in Clayton.
The sub-zero temperatures made for brutal working conditions for those firefighters.
The smoke was so thick coming off Ray’s Trash that a section of US 40 had to be shut down for several hours.
In all, nearly 60 firefighters showed up to fight the blaze, including staff from Wayne Township who shared an interesting perspective.
“One of our firefighters described working in Plainfield. He was inside fighting the fire and said that was better to work inside than it was coming outside into the cold, because of the warmth in the building,” said Wayne Township Fire Captain Mike Pruitt.
The Plainfield Fire Territory posted on Facebook that crews were working in “terrible conditions.”
“We have two school buses to serve as mobile warming centers so our firefighters are rotating,” said Plainfield Fire Territory Chief Joel Thacker.
Pictures by Wayne Township show firefighters struggling to get air regulators working, hoses frozen to the trucks, and crews trying to stay safe walking on icy pavement.
“Walking around in Plainfield like anywhere, if you’ve got water on the ground, it’s total ice. We injure firefighters every year from walking on slick surfaces,” said Pruitt.
The Plainfield Fire Department posted video around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night of crews still working to extinguish flames. That’s nearly 13 hours after they were initially called to the scene.
Crews finally cleared the area around 11:30 p.m. Investigators said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental.
Plainfield Fire and multiple fire departments from Hendricks and Marion County are battling a commercial building fire at Rays Trash in terrible conditions on US 40 west of Plainfield. pic.twitter.com/ittgZA2vCa
— Wayne Twp Fire Dept (@Waynetwpfire) January 30, 2019
