More information regarding last week’s fire at the Manitowoc County Compost site on Basswood Road is now available.
According to Jon Reisenbuechler, the Recycling Center Operations Manager, an unnamed individual dumped ash on the compost pile, and within an hour the pile was on fire.
Due to the high winds and dry leaves on the pile, the fire spread rather quickly. The Rockwood Fire Department was called to the site and had it contained after a roughly 4-hour battle. Mutual aid assistance with water movement was provided by Branch Fire Department, Town of Two Rivers Fire Department, and the City Manitowoc. Crews returned the next morning to battle hot spots and flare-ups.
“Ashes are not accepted for multiple reasons,” Reisenbuechler said. “Obviously, they can be a fire hazard, as this incident demonstrates. Ashes are also not accepted because they may contain undesirable chemicals from whatever was burned and we have no way to know if they came from clean wood, treated lumber, household trash, or worse.”
Anyone caught dumping ashes will be fined $200 and will have to pay for any damage caused.
If you have materials that you are unsure of, stop in the office, call 920-683-4333, or visit ManitowocCounty.com/RecyclingCenter.
