Hazmat teams watching air quality in Roselle Park, N.J., after huge fire at plastic fabrication company

Hazmat teams are monitoring the air quality in Roselle Park, New Jersey, on Friday after a massive fire at a plastic fabrication company. 

The inferno at the Crossfield Products Corporation facility has caused a strong chemical-like odor to spread through the area. All residents have been asked to keep their windows closed. 

"You can smell the chemicals in the air," resident Ella Thomas said. "A little bit of burning in the esophagus." 

"One of the craziest fires I've seen in a while"

The fire at 140 Valley Road, which is used to fabricate plastic and flooring materials, started at around 4:45 p.m. Thursday, according to officials.

Mayor Joseph Signorello said firefighters could not immediately enter the burning building because of the danger. He said a transformer blew and caused about 500 customers to lose power, which was not fully restored until early Friday morning. 

"There was a lot of explosions and firebombs. Look, I've been a fireman for 45 years, it's one of the craziest fires I've seen in a while," Signorello said. "There's probably propane in there, fork lifts with propane tanks in there. There's some chemicals in there, and resin."  

At one point, the fire escalated to six alarms, but officials said thankfully no one was inside.   

Residents evacuated out of abundance of caution

Hazmat teams said the air quality remains safe, but people who live near the facility were told to evacuate out of an abundance of caution.

"The fire was in the air and then you could see the ember going up in the air. We didn't want any of it catching the trees or anything close to us," Barth Shah said. "It was very close. It was definitely scary." 

"I feel like we shouldn't be here for that long of a time without a mask," Sophia Catalina said. 

There were no injures in the fire and it did not spread to any other buildings, according to officials. 

The cause is under investigation.