Fire Contained at Alcoa in Massena (Updated)

The Alcoa Massena West cast house caught on fire shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday. A witness told a local newspaper she heard loud boom and her house shook before her volunteer firefighter husband headed to the scene.

Initial reports were the fire may have started in an aluminium chip melter that malfunctioned. The fire quickly leapt to the roof of the two story building. 

An Alcoa spokesperson said the cast house and the nearby extrusion building facilities located in the center of the sprawling Alcoa plant just outside the village of Massena, were evacuated. There were no reported injuries.

Heavy black smoke covered the village of Massena shortly after the fire broke out and was visible for miles outside of Massena.

Firefighters from Massena, Louisville, Brasher-Winthrop and several other departments responded to the fire scene. Firefighters were attempting to get a helicopter to the area to conduct an aerial inspection.

More Photos of the Fire

There are no lasting environmental effects from last week’s Alcoa fire, according to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

DEC's division of Chemical Spills traveled to Massena after the fire broke out March 29. The agency made sure any runoff from water and foam used to fight the fire did not seep into the ground and contaminate the surrounding area. The water and foam could have picked up oil and other industrial pollutants.

Alcoa has a wastewater treatment system that was able to process that water, A potential chemical spill at the site is no longer a concern for DEC. It is being treated, they have a very good treatment system, a DEC spokesman said.

DEC’s water quality and air quality divisions were consulted after the fire but were not on the scene. Alcoa, not DEC, completed air quality samplings.

There were no red flags based on the air quality reports Alcoa provided to DEC. “They stated there was no concerns shown on their ambient air monitors,”  DEC spokesman said. “There’s always some potential hazardous materials in the smoke. ... There’s always some potential for chemicals in any kind of smoke.”

Despite the size of the blaze and the thick black smoke that billowed over Massena, there don’t appear to be any long-term effects from the fire. I don’t see anything that says things were amiss. It was handled appropriately. We’re confident there was no lasting environmental impact from the fire, said the DEC spokesman”

The state Department of Health can be tasked with investigating the human health and safety risks following an incident. The agency was not contacted to travel to Massena after last week’s blaze, spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said.

Alcoa continues to investigate the cause of the fire in the cast house and the estimated cost of damage. Alcoa spokesperson previously said the company was not planning to lay off anyone after the fire and had instead shifted some personnel to other operations in the Massena West Plant.

On Friday, Alcoa spokesman said Alcoa was working to restore its ability to cast molten aluminum into ingot, the process which the fire sidelined last week.

“Production in smelting and extrusions is continuing while the fire investigation and structural integrity review of the cast house continues,” Alcoa spokesman said in an email. “Crews are working to clean and restore services like potable water, compressed air, steam and natural gas — all components of our process. Everyone is working together extremely well, we have Alcoa resources here from many other Alcoa locations, in addition to various contractors. ... We are focusing our efforts on getting one of our four casting complexes back in operation. There is no timetable for when that will occur.”