Air quality concerns arise as recycling plant fire smolders for days in Baltimore County
BALTIMORE - A fire at Owl Metals, a recycling plant on Rettman Lane in Dundalk, is still smoldering and the plume of smoke is making it difficult for nearby residents to breathe days after a massive fire erupted.
The three-alarm fire started around 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, which ultimately led to a partial building collapse.
"I've been using masking tape to tape up some of the windows where I can smell the smell coming through," neighbor Kelsey Evans said.
Firefighters are still working to extinguish hotspots and monitoring flare-ups, however, a thick layer of black smoke is blanketing the neighborhood.
"It's more like a fog, at points," Kelsey Evans said. "It's low lying, very thick, will burn your nose, hurt your throat."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
"A lot of black smoke"
Aubrey Evans said she saw the flames from her window, which prompted responses from multiple fire rescue boats, Baltimore County Fire and Baltimore City Fire departments.
"It was a lot of black smoke coming up and the flames got higher and higher every time," she said.
An elderly man was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Others who live nearby were told to shelter in place.
Air quality concerns
Kelsey Evans is concerned that whatever is burning at Owl Metals is sending toxins into the air and into her home.
"My house smells exactly as it does outside," she said.
The Maryland Department of the Environment is monitoring the air quality at a site in Essex, four miles north of the fire. The results, as of Sunday, show the air quality is in the healthy range.
But Kelsey Evans is not buying the results.
"What are we breathing in, could it cause issues down the road for us? It's our biggest concern," Kelsey Evans said.
