Scrap pile ignites into two-alarm fire in Marlborough

Aug. 2—MARLBOROUGH — Firefighters extinguished a two-alarm blaze in a scrap pile within minutes of arriving to the scene Tuesday morning, Marlborough Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Patnode said.

First responders got to the blaze at Scrap It, a business at 716 Route 12, around 9 a.m. and quickly got it under control, Patnode said in a phone interview later that morning. He added that the fire did not spread from the scrap pile and there were no injuries or property damage.

Ralph Carbonaro, a facility manager at the business — which provides recycling services for scrap such as appliances, automobiles and heavy steel — said at the scene that officials haven't determined the cause of the fire yet. He said something in the scrap pile likely sparked the blaze, and advised customers to be diligent about what scrap they are throwing away and to ask employees if they are unsure how to dispose of certain materials.

According to Carbonaro, employees were loading a scrap pile — consisting of metal, foam and appliances — on the back of a dump truck to be taken to another facility when they noticed the pile was smoking.

The driver promptly dumped the pile, which by then had ignited, Carbonaro said, and drove away.

"It didn't even burn the paint on the truck," he said. "They dumped it that quick."

In addition to the Marlborough Fire Department, first responders from Keene, Spofford, Swanzey and Troy also assisted at the scene, according to Southwestern N.H. District Fire Mutual Aid.

"We had more help than we needed," Patnode said.

Hunter Oberst can be reached at 355-8585, or hoberst@keenesentinel.com.