for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

NFT: Marcal paper factory fire last night

Matt in SGS : 1/31/2019 1:37 pm
Not sure how many people are from the Northern NJ area, but if you were, at some point you saw the Marcal paper factory sign by Route 80 in Elmwood Park. They've had fires there in the past, but last night, in the cold and wind, the whole thing went up in an inferno and burned to the ground. I have friends who are volunteer firefighters and they were out there and realized that it had gotten so out of control and in that cold, had to change up to try to keep it spreading to neighboring homes. Amazingly, no one was hurt in what was reported as a 10 alarm fire, but this was so big it was showing up on weather radar.


Yeah that was crazy...  
JCin332 : 1/31/2019 1:42 pm : link
..
It must have been pretty bad  
jcn56 : 1/31/2019 1:42 pm : link
because here in NYC, the OEM had to issue a notification letting people know the smoke they were calling in to report was coming from NJ.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/em/resources/notify_nyc/fd-activity-2.page - ( New Window )
Iconic structure.  
section125 : 1/31/2019 1:45 pm : link
I saw the pictures, knew I knew the building, but could not place it.

People can be wiping their butts with their hands!
Isn't that...  
Johnny5 : 1/31/2019 1:54 pm : link
... right on Rt 80? I'm thinking I have passed that more than a few times on my way from CT to Totowa.
I always  
npd4432 : 1/31/2019 1:59 pm : link
Thought it was a neat building while passing it on I80 going to Yankee stadium.
I left work early yesterday so I missed it  
djm : 1/31/2019 2:00 pm : link
But I drive by there every single day. Pretty sad to see so many people will be out of work now. That place was older than dirt. Sad day.
The I-80 corridor East of Paterson is an ugly, ugly stretch...  
x meadowlander : 1/31/2019 2:14 pm : link
...the Marcal factory one of the few cool sights on the drive to the bridge, tunnel or the shitty towns that line it.

Before you get offended, I lived there. I love those towns.

But they are shitty. :)

My father used to do deliveries to and from Marcal when he worked for Garden State Paper.

Did it  
Pete in MD : 1/31/2019 2:17 pm : link
smell really bad in that area before the fire? I went to college near a paper mill and the whole town smelled really bad. People told me I would get used to it but I just hated it more and more each day.
RE: Did it  
section125 : 1/31/2019 2:24 pm : link
In comment 14282274 Pete in MD said:
Quote:
smell really bad in that area before the fire? I went to college near a paper mill and the whole town smelled really bad. People told me I would get used to it but I just hated it more and more each day.


That is a paper pulp plant. They use acid to breakdown the pulp to form paper and that is what stinks.
RE: Isn't that...  
Matt in SGS : 1/31/2019 2:27 pm : link
In comment 14282232 Johnny5 said:
Quote:
... right on Rt 80? I'm thinking I have passed that more than a few times on my way from CT to Totowa.


Yes, you would have seen this going on 80W towards Totowa
Sad to see ...  
short lease : 1/31/2019 2:49 pm : link
because it looks like a building type that they will never build again - brick.
I flew over it  
Existenz : 1/31/2019 2:58 pm : link
Our flight was landing around 9 from Key west and we were diverted up and around to approach Newark. You could see it out on the horizon for a really long time too. Was crazy coming over it though
In my Yoot...  
x meadowlander : 1/31/2019 3:00 pm : link
...spent a lot of time in that area. Pumped gas at the Amoco in Saddle Brook for a while, lots of driving in and around Elmwood Park.

Used to jam at ZOUNDS, great, smelly, steamy rehearsal studio off Midland Ave...

Paterson still has a lot of the old brick structures left. That city has a great history, early industrial powerhouse.
A landmark I've been driving by my whole life  
BillT : 1/31/2019 5:26 pm : link
Sad.
there used to be a club in Garfield called The Wreck Room...  
jnoble : 1/31/2019 6:01 pm : link
..that me and friends used to go to all the time 1998-2006 when it closed down and the exit off 80 was right across from the iconic red letter sign. It was the landmark to turn off. Oddly enough I always suspected that one day it was going to burn to the ground
You couldn't drive that stretch without noticing that building  
steve in ky : 1/31/2019 6:08 pm : link
Were they still operational or was it empty?
RE: You couldn't drive that stretch without noticing that building  
jnoble : 1/31/2019 6:44 pm : link
In comment 14282792 steve in ky said:
Quote:
Were they still operational or was it empty?


They were still in business. Luckily nobody was hurt. If employees had gotten trapped in there it probably would've been a huge tragedy the likes not seen in decades like that old Triangle Shirt factory incident
drove past that building thousands of times as a kid  
markky : 1/31/2019 8:38 pm : link
a friend of mine's dad worked there in the 60s and 70s.
Same here  
Devour the Day : 1/31/2019 8:51 pm : link
My Dad was a union millwright and had many jobs in the Marcal plant back in the 70's & 80's.
Sad news.
I drove past it this morning  
FJ : 1/31/2019 11:27 pm : link
Very sad sight after frequently passing this building all my life. The whole building is destroyed and it was still smoking pretty badly this morning.
RE: I drove past it this morning  
bigbluehoya : 2/1/2019 7:38 am : link
In comment 14283069 FJ said:
Quote:
Very sad sight after frequently passing this building all my life. The whole building is destroyed and it was still smoking pretty badly this morning.


I literally just drove past on my bus ride to work. What a devastating scene.
sad  
Giants86 : 2/1/2019 8:49 am : link
always loved the sign for some reason.
It's reported that  
Matt in SGS : 2/1/2019 9:04 am : link
500 people are now out of work due to the fire, and 200 in Elmwood Park alone. Awful.
RE: It's reported that  
steve in ky : 2/1/2019 9:18 am : link
In comment 14283191 Matt in SGS said:
Quote:
500 people are now out of work due to the fire, and 200 in Elmwood Park alone. Awful.


That is awful. Hopefully they rebuild.
RE: RE: It's reported that  
Mr. Bungle : 2/1/2019 9:22 am : link
In comment 14283215 steve in ky said:
Quote:
In comment 14283191 Matt in SGS said:


Quote:


500 people are now out of work due to the fire, and 200 in Elmwood Park alone. Awful.



That is awful. Hopefully they rebuild.

I grew up in Elmwood Park. It was a landmark for our little town.

I just rode past it on my bus. Crews are still there. It's just piles of cooked rubble.
RE: there used to be a club in Garfield called The Wreck Room...  
djm : 2/3/2019 4:36 pm : link
In comment 14282784 jnoble said:
Quote:
..that me and friends used to go to all the time 1998-2006 when it closed down and the exit off 80 was right across from the iconic red letter sign. It was the landmark to turn off. Oddly enough I always suspected that one day it was going to burn to the ground


One of the worst (best) drinking nights of my life was at the wreck room. Damaging....
Back to the Corner