This incident occurred in 2020 Published: Oct. 16, 2020
By Jim Kinney | jkinney@repub.com
AGAWAM — Investigators theorize spontaneous combustion — the overheating of decomposing vegetable matter in compost piles — caused a sprawling fire Thursday at the Bondi’s Island landfill, according to Mayor William Sapelli. The fire still smoldered Friday afternoon as rain fell and firefighters dug into the material, spreading it out and dousing it so it doesn’t flare up again. Sapelli visited the fire scene Friday morning. He described it as acres in size and atop a large, pyramid-shaped hill. The fire isn’t considered suspicious, he said. The fire blanketed downtown Springfield with thick smoke reminiscent of the California wildfires of this summer. Residents smelled the fire as far away as Chicopee and South Hadley. Sixteen fire departments were on the scene Friday, including a unit from Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. Also on hand was a firefighter recovery and rest unit and investigators from state fire marshal’s office, according to a spokesman. “I’m so proud of the area fire departments that jumped in,” Sapelli said. Springfield City Councilor Michael Fenton said the size of the response shows it is imperative that fires like this are prevented in the future.
“There are a lot of public resources being put into fighting this fire,” he said.
The landfill is in Agawam on the border of West Springfield. It is the property of the city Springfield, which lies across the Connecticut River. New Jersey-based Covanta operates the facility under a contract with Springfield.
Fire at Bondi's Island in Agawam could burn for days
West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt said firefighters from his city had been at the landfill multiple times over the summer to extinguish smaller fires. He said that was based on conversations with the fire department. Covanta spokeswoman Nicolle K. Robles said this is only the second fire in the past six months. Prior to that, there had been no fires at the site in the last 10 years, she said. “Further, nothing has changed at the site operationally,” she said. “We will conduct a full investigation and work with third party composting experts to ensure this doesn’t happen again.” This is at least the second fire this year at a facility operated by Covanta. One broke out Aug. 22 at a landfill in the town of Carver. It spread to cover a quarter-acre and burned 2 feet deep. Officials with the solid waste district overseeing Covanta said there might have been too much trash, and not enough other material, in the topmost layer. That condition allowed the fire to spread. Reichelt seconded Fenton’s call for Covanta to detail a prevention plan at the Agawam landfill, either treating the yard waste in the compost facility differently or by making smaller piles spaced farther apart. Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said in a news release that he’s requested that city Public Works Director Chris Cignoli, Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi and City Solicitor Ed Pikula contact Covanta. “For a review and explanation of what occurred and what they are going to do to quell this situation ASAP and just as important that this incident doesn’t happen again,” he said. The city announced that the Bondi’s Island landfill will be closed through Saturday. Covanta said the fire began at about 12:45 p.m. Thursday at its leaf and yard waste compost operation. The fire has not spread to the landfill itself. Covanta said the incident is contained with no active fire, but there remains some smoldering and smoke. “To be clear, the fire was contained to the leaf and yard waste compost operation only,” Covanta said. “The landfill portion of the site was not impacted and no trash was ever on fire.” Fenton said he has questions about air quality. The state Department of Environmental protection has air monitoring equipment at the scene, according to spokespeople. Reichelt said at this point the only advice local officials are getting to pass on is for people in the area to keep their windows shut. “The sight of all that smoke hanging down over the Connecticut River, all around the Memorial Bridge, is something I won’t soon forget,” Fenton said.
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