A 3 -alarm blaze at a plastics recycling plant in Palmer Township sent a giant plume of smoke above the Nazareth area Friday morning as crews tried to contain a fire that started outside but spread inside and badly burned the building.

No injuries were reported. Only a handful of workers were in the building when the blaze began.
Northampton County dispatch center supervisor said

Palmer Township According to emergency radio reports, firefighters contained most of the fire outside the building around noon. The plant is north of Easton and east of Nazareth and Route 33.


Around 11 a.m., the fire spread from a refuse container outside the National Plastics & Manufacturing Co. Inc. building at 11 McFadden Road, sending up thick black smoke and generating dozens of 911 calls, a The fire was on the side of the building at the loading bays and was concentrated in the container of cardboard and plastic trash. The garbage container was surrounded by stacks of plastic materials and shipping pallets.

Shortly before 1 p.m., fire crews were making holes in the building's roof to ventilate the smoke and check for fire extensions. Firefighters initially struggled with a shortage of manpower to knock down the fire. Eventually, more than a dozen fire companies were on the scene.