Crews from Bucks County and New Jersey spent much of Wednesday afternoon and evening at a Falls Township facility for a hazmat call.
Firefighters were first dispatched to the Covanta facility on Middle Drive inside the Keystone Trade Center, formerly the U.S. Steel property, around 1:30 p.m. for a report of fumes inside a building.
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Fire Marshal Rich Dippolito said the call was upgraded to add several fire companies and the Bucks County and Trenton hazmat teams.
Workers inside the facility operated by Covanta, a metal recycling company, sprayed a dust cloud of aluminum dross, a byproduct of aluminum smelter plants, with water. The mix of water and dross caused a chemical reaction that filled the facility with potentially dangerous fumes, Dippolito said.
No injuries were reported, but higher-than-normal levels of fumes remained in parts of the facility into Wednesday evening, the fire marshal said.
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Dippolito explained the fumes were being cleared and crews would check on the levels Thursday morning.
The Falls Township, Fairless Hills, Levittown No. 1, Levittown No. 2, Morrisville, and Tullytown fire companies responded, along with the county and Trenton hazmat unit. Capital Health EMS, the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad, and Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squads also responded.
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