LACKWANNA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A massive fire tore through the old Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna in November 2016.
The plant, which was the size of approximately six square blocks, went up in flames shortly after 7 a.m. November 9, 2016, and plumes of smoke were visible from miles away.
Below you can watch our report from November 2019, marking three years since the blaze.
Officials closed Route 5 from Ridge Road to Lake Avenue and a State of Emergency was declared due to spewing smoke and ash. All 300 homes in Bethlehem Park were evacuated due to concerns over air quality. Families were asked to relocate to friends or family's homes, if possible, if not shelters were put in place.
On Tuesday we learned of a major win for the neighbors who took legal action against the owners of the property.
According to Vinal & Vinal, P.C., the attorneys representing the neighbors, a jury found the owner of the property, Great Lakes Industrial Development, LLC, and the tenant, Industrial Materials Recycling LLC, were each negligent and liable for causing the fire.
The Vinal & Vinal, P.C. said in part:
"The testimony showed that the defendants were storing a million pounds of ground plastic and plastic to be ground, in a building with no sprinklers or smoke or heat detectors and no alarms. The proof showed that the defendants both had notice of light bulbs exploding prior, which were industrial lightbulbs of 1000 watts, where the internal temperature was over 2000. Manufacturer warnings were that these bulbs should NOT be over combustible materials and that there should be a protective lens over them so that if they explode, the hot shards do not cause injury or fire. Also, the proof showed that the plastic was stored in thick cardboard boxes stacked on wooden pallets three high, with the average weight of each box of ground plastic to be 1,000 pounds in one box."
The attorneys said there is still a lot of work ahead when it comes to the damages portion but they believe "justice was done here today."
