Foam trucks from Westover Air Reserve Base were called to help extinguish the blaze.
Multiple fire engine companies respond to a fire in the Bandag building at 920 Sheridan St. in Chicopee Sunday night.
CHICOPEE – A raging fire at a company that specializes in tire treading and repairing destroyed the business and sent black smoke billowing east across the Pioneer Valley Sunday night.
The fire at the Bandag company at 920 Sheridan St. was first reported at about 6:30 p.m., Sunday according to police records. Four hours later it was still burning.
By 7 p.m., it started burning through the roof of the metal-sided building. Despite non-stop efforts to pour water on the building, the blaze continued to spread and the building started collapsing before 9 p.m.
Holyoke and Springfield firefighters were called to assist either at the blaze or to help man stations emptied by city firefighters. The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross was also called in to provide food to firefighters.
When the fire proved too stubborn to extinguish with water, a foam truck from Westover Air Reserve Base that is designed to extinguish fires from jet fuel, was called to douse the flames. While the foam managed to put out some, fires reignited quickly.
Bandag is a multi-national company that specializes in replacing treads on truck tires. According to its website, it has about a dozen employees at the Chicopee site.
Police said no employees were working Sunday evening when the blaze began.
Firefighters were originally able to enter the building, but left when the fire started spreading. There were reports of hazardous materials inside, including vats of fuel, as well as rubber used for the tires.
They also had to battle brush fires that were sparked by the blaze in the building, extinguishing them as quickly as possible to prevent them from spreading to other nearby businesses.
The fire belched thick, black smoke for hours that could be seen from miles away. People who saw the smoke gathered near the building to watch the fire.
Walter J. Pietras, who lives a few blocks away from the industrial park where Bandag is located and also works part-time at nearby Westover, said he saw the smoke when he was driving home around 7 p.m.
“I was on (Interstate) 291, and I could see that black smoke,” he said. “It was all blowing east, it is pure black,” he said.
Pietras said he remembered when the building was constructed about four to five years ago.
The Fire Department closed off a large portion of Sheridan Street so firefighters could fight the blaze. Fire deputies were busy at the blaze and were not available to speak about it immediately.
The cause will be investigated by the state Fire Marshal’s office and the Chicopee Fire Department.
This is the second business to be destroyed in a fire in Chicopee in four weeks. Wickles FinePrinting on 17 Center St. burned down in a fire Feb. 26.