With total damage estimated at $15 million, the fire at the Waste Management recycling facility on Conestoga Boulevard is one of the most destructive in Cambridge’s history.
Fire crews remained at the site for much of the day Tuesday, watching carefully to ensure the fire didn’t flare up again.
They weren’t allowed into the plant due to concerns its roof could still collapse.
While the cause of the fire hasn’t officially been determined, Brent Smith, the Cambridge Fire Department’s chief fire prevention officer, says it is believed to have started in a sorting machine.
The machine is used to sort cardboard, wood and other materials, and does create high heats, Smith said.
“Usually they can look after it and put it out, but sometimes it gets away on them,” he said.
In the case of Monday’s fire, employees attempted to extinguish the flames with their own suppression equipment, including the building’s sprinkler system, but were unsuccessful.
The machine itself is worth approximately $1 million.
Also destroyed was a $4-million set of solar panels on the building’s roof, which were set to be switched on for the first time in the near future.
The Waste Management facility opened in 2012. The company boasts that it is the largest single-stream recycling centre in Canada.
