Garbage pile catches fire in Hoffman Estates

Hoffman Estates firefighters battled a blaze in a recyclable materials pile in an old gravel pit Thursday afternoon, fire officials said.

Firefighters were called just after 5:20 p.m. to the gravel pits owned by Plote Construction, 1100 Brandt Drive, for a fire in an unsorted garbage pile putting out a large plume of smoke that could be seen for miles, fire officials said.

"It's an old gravel quarry, and several reclamation companies work out there," Hoffman Estates Batallion Chief Richard Englund said. "Plote Pits leases out different areas ,but it's on their property. It's a big gravel pit, and they do a lot of recycling."

East Dundee, Barrington Countryside and Palatine rural fire departments provided water tankers to help fight the fire, which was burning in an area without hydrants, Englund said. More than 70,000 gallons of water were used to help extinguish the blaze, Englund said.

Several large construction machines were used to provide fire breaks and separate burning material from non-burning areas. Firefighters were able to keep it from spreading to nearby piles of recycled roofing materials and gas cylinders, Englund said.

The fire was declared under control around 9 p.m. Remaining debris would be allowed to burn down, he said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No damage estimates were available.