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Paper fuels Bensenville recycling plant fire

A fire inside a Bensenville paper recycling plant Wednesday afternoon spread to an area of the building containing large bundles of paper, fire officials said.

By the time firefighters arrived at the PRI Group facility at 600 Thomas Drive about 2:30 p.m., the fire had been burning for a while, said Bensenville Fire Protection District Chief Michael Spain.

Fire officials raised it to a second alarm as bundles of paper that were in the process of being recycled caught fire. Those bundles were stacked to the 20-foot ceiling, Spain said.

The fire was extinguished about 7 p.m., but crews remained on scene cleaning the debris.

“It was difficult getting to the scene of the fire,” Spain said. “A lot of paper went up.”

Spain said there were workers inside the plant when the fire started, but they did not initially notice the smoke or flames.

“It was a relatively small portion, but we have bales of recycling items stacked to the ceiling in a tall building,” he said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday night, but fire officials said it does not seem suspicious.

Spain said the building remains intact, and the majority of the damage was done to the paper.