BY: ABQ RAW Staff
POSTED: 08/07/2023 @ 3:30PM
This is whats left of Atkore United Poly Systems after a massive fire consumed it yesterday
Albuquerque –
On August 7th, 2023, Bernalillo County Fire and Albuquerque Fire Rescue PIO officials gave an update to the media regarding the massive plastic recycling warehouse fire that started Sunday afternoon. On August 6th at around 3pm, Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) and Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue (BCFR) responded to a commercial fire at 5301 Hawking Dr SE, which is a plastic manufacturing facility named Atkore United Poly Systems. There was a massive joint agency firefighting effort that finally concluded today at around noon on August 7th.
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The remains of a car which is suspected to be the source of the fire
The cause of the fire is suspected to be a car which was near the warehouse. While we were on scene we noticed fire investigators looking over the car and it was cordoned off. At the property heavy construction equipment was already being used to remove debris from the area in order to clean up the mess the fire left behind.
Fire officials will be conducting a through investigation in the coming days and have updates on what was the official cause in the coming weeks.
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An AFR fire truck pulls up to begin efforts to extinguish the massive out of control fire yesterday
All told the fire required over 40 resources and over 90 personnel from the following agencies: New Mexico State Forestry, Corrales Fire Department, Sandoval County Fire Department, Town of Bernalillo Fire Department, Kirtland Air Force Base Fire Department, Albuquerque Fire Rescue, and the Bernalillo County Fire Rescue. Traffic Control and Firefighter Operations safety was provided by the Albuquerque Police Department. The primary fuel for the fire was High Density Polyethylene(HDPE) pipes, conduit, and recycling materials that were onsite at the business location.