Fire Breaks Out In East Farmingdale Waste Transfer Facility

EAST FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK - Firefighters from multiple fire departments battled a fire that broke out inside of a rail-served waste transfer facility on New Highway Saturday afternoon.

At around 2:05PM on Saturday, June 24, 2023, firefighters from the East Farmingdale Fire Company were notified of a reported building fire at 1633 New Hwy, East Farmingdale, NY 11735, near Conklin Street.

Within minutes, fire crews arrived on scene and were immediately met with thick smoke rising from a waste transfer facility full of garbage waiting for sorting and disposal.

First responders from multiple departments, including the Farmingdale Fire Department, South Farmingdale Fire Department, Melville Fire Department, and Wyandanch Wheatley Heights Ambulance Corp were requested and responded to the scene to assist.

The firefighters promptly initiated an attack on the flames, utilizing the fire hoses and deck guns of the fire trucks. Water was continuously sprayed onto the burning pile of garbage to suppress the fire and prevent it from spreading and intensifying. A payloader was strategically used to move around the piles of garbage to expose the burning areas still needing to be extinguished and to prevent the spread of the flames.

According to the WIN Waste Innovations (Formerly Tunnel Hill Partners) website, the Coastal Distribution Farmingdale location listed at this address is one of only two rail-served transfer stations on Long Island. The facility loads waste into railcars and transports it to Ohio for disposal.

There were no injuries reported from this fire.

The fire is currently under investigation by the Long Island Railroad Fire Marshals and the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.