AGAWAM — Personnel from Franklin County and Athol were among the people dispatched to the Bondi’s Island landfill fire that took five days to extinguish.
Turners Falls Fire Chief John Zellmann explained four brush trucks and 25 firefighters from Forestry Task Force 9-A, comprised of some Franklin County fire departments, were deployed to Bondi’s Island on Sunday. He said the Orange, Turners Falls, Erving and Northfield departments each sent a brush truck, and there was manpower from those departments as well as Greenfield and Colrain.
Additionally, the Salvation Army Athol Corps had an Emergency Disaster Services team present to help feed firefighters.
The blaze started at around 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 and was put out Monday. Agawam residents drop off residential yard waste at the landfill off of Route 5.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office announced on Tuesday that the Bondi’s Island fire was caused by spontaneous combustion. The fire started in a brush pile that included leaves, stumps and logs.
Zellmann said firefighters broke up into two groups and used payloaders and excavators to dig through the 14 large burning piles of compost, brush, leaves and mulch.
“It burned so hot and so fast that even a pile of logs started burning,” Zellmann said.
He mentioned it is rare for Forestry Task Force 9-A to be deployed, and the orders must come through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan described the situation as “a pretty significant fire.” He said all firefighters on scene performed well.
“Everybody did great and did what they were asked to do,” he said.
Orange Fire Chief James Young said he sent a brush truck and four firefighters to the scene under the Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan. They assisted in combating the blaze from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“They performed as requested, as they always would,” Young said.
Emily Mew, the Emergency Disaster Services teams coordinator for the Massachusetts division of the Salvation Army, said multiple teams responded throughout the five days the blaze was raging. This included the Athol Corps as well as the Pittsfield Corps, the Fitchburg Corps, the Springfield Corps and the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center of Springfield.
“It was definitely a unique kind of fire. It was up on top of this mound of … I don’t know what,” said Mew, who saw the fire for herself on Oct. 15. “It was a little bit eerie, driving up curvy roads to the landfill, seeing smoke or pop-up fires throughout the entire area, and just seeing people moving logs. … It was very stinky.”
She said anywhere from 80 to 100 firefighters were on scene at any given time.
Mew mentioned the food the Salvation Army serves to firefighters varies depending on the temperature and time of day, but that the firefighters are always grateful. The Salvation Army responds to all types of disasters, including tornadoes and hurricanes, and provides emotional and spiritual care when needed.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.