A three-alarm fire erupted at a Public Storage facility on Quakerbridge Road around 11:30 Tuesday morning. Multiple crews including The Hamilton Fire Department contained the fire without any injuries.
Less than a mile from the MCCC campus, Quakerbridge Road, between Youngs Road and Hughes Drive, was closed while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.
Hamilton Fire Chief, Chris Tozzi, addressed the situation saying, “We got dispatched for a rubbish fire, which turned out to be a storage unit fire.”
According to Chief Tozzi, storage unit fires can be especially dangerous as there are few restrictions on what can be stored.
Chief Tozzi continued, “Whatever’s behind every door is a mystery to the firefighter, so it becomes a little more precarious and a little more tough, too. There’s vehicles in there, there’s clothes. So this is a great stop. I’m really happy with the guys.”
Chief Tozzi guessed that approximately 20 storage units had been damaged by the fire.
Jeff Martin, the Mayor of Hamilton was also among the emergency responders and said he usually shows up to the big fires in the area.
Mayor Martin said, “If I were to show up for the small ones I’d be running around just as much as these guys, [I’m] just here to make sure everybody’s ok and to show support. I can’t do anything else. I’d just get in the way.”
While Chief Tozzi was unable to comment on whether or not anyone was inside at the time of the fire, concerned citizens Joe and Jill Mooney, who arrived less than ten minutes after the blaze began, said, “Ambulances have been here but they haven’t taken anyone out, just that gurney.”
Joe Mooney continued, “When we first got here it sounded like there were fireworks in there. It was going pop, pop, pop, pop and then nothing, and most of it was in this first [storage] unit or the one right next to it. It was a weird sound. It sounded like firecrackers.”
With thick black smoke in the air, the sound of helicopters flying above, and the smell of burnt plastic, the fire was noticed by many and led to crowds forming at a safe distance.
Nicole Dunn, a former Mercer student, was among the many people observing from afar. She said, “[I] got here about 15 minutes ago. It was just all up in flames.”
Ken Brightbill, who was at the storage unit getting his fishing poles said “I feel bad for the owners that never had nothing in their unit flammable, but it spreads when the roof collapses on everything, everything goes up.”
Brightbill continued, “Well, time for me to change units!”
While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the fire was contained with no injuries reported.
