Firefighters Douse Mulch Fire at Ecological Center

Volunteer firefighters from Lawrenceville Fire Co. were called out on Saturday (Jan. 5) and Sunday (Jan. 6) to extinguish fires in a large pile of mulch at Lawrence Township’s Joseph H. Maher Jr. Ecological Center at 3701 Princeton Pike.

Firefighters, who responded about 3:30 p.m. Saturday after smoke was seen wafting across Princeton Pike, said they spent about an hour spraying water on the smoldering pile.

The fire company was called back about 2:30 p.m. Sunday after the pile reignited. A township public works department employee used a front-end loader to break apart the mound of mulch to help with the firefighting effort.

Grass, leaves, wood chips and other organic materials found in mulch generate heat as they decompose, and can sometimes cause large piles to self-ignite.

See Also:

• Jan. 30, 2011: “Where There's Smoke... Another Mulch Blaze Burns”
• Jan. 29, 2011: “Firefighters from Lawrence and Princeton Attend to Another Large Mulch Fire at Twp. Ecological Center”
• Dec. 29, 2010: “Another Mulch Fire Self-Ignites at Township Ecological Center”
• Dec. 28, 2010: “Large Mulch Fire Soaked at Lawrence Township Ecological Center”