Kearny Fire Fires: Blaze still in flames, Pulaski Skyway closed, air quality in Kearny is fine

A major fire in a chemical chlorine plant in Hudson County continues to burn on Saturday morning and, even though it is under control, the Pulaski Skyway has been shut in both directions and continues to entice residents premises to stay indoors because of the potential danger of chemical vapors.

"If you're outside and you smell smoke, go back," Kearny fire chief Steve Dyl said in an interview with ABC7 in New York around 7:30 am.

Another fire department representative from Kearny said that the fire was under control, but that some hot spots were still burning at the chemical plant. Some local streets remain closed at 8:20 am and the Pulaski Skyway remains closed.

UPDATE (saturday 10h10): Kearny police said that it was now safe for the inhabitants of their city to open their windows or go out.

"In Kearny, there is no air quality problem," said Police Lieutenant Charles Smith. "We have a hazardous materials unit testing the air."

Smith said the wind seemed to be blowing toward Newark and Jersey City, so officials from these cities will have to determine if the air is safe in this area.

At 1010, the Pulaski Skyway remained closed to traffic, as were routes 1 and 9 for trucks and some local streets in South Kearny, Smith said.

Alerts on the quality of the air

Late Friday night, when the fire broke out in the chemical company Alden Leads on Jacobus Avenue in Kearny, officials from Kearny, Bayonne, Hoboken and Newark all urged residents of their city ​​to stay inside their house and keep their windows closed because of vast feathers of smoke drifting over the area.

Part of the smoke has also drifted on parts of Staten Island in New York.

At 0745, both Pulaski Skyway directions remained closed. The Skyway, which provides traffic on Routes 1 and 9 between Newark and Jersey City, is located very close to the chemical plant.

Up to now, no injuries have been reported.

Hoboken officials said it was prudent for the inhabitants of their city to open their windows because "the air poses no risk to health". The aerial notice was also lifted in Bayonne.

The Alden Leads Chemicals Factory manufactures and stores chlorine, which is used in industrial processes and as an antiseptic. It is not immediately known what caused the fire, which sent Friday night thick smoke thick gray smoke on the Pulaski Skyway and surrounding cities.

Olivia Rizzo, editor of NJ Advance Media, contributed to this report. Len Melisurgo can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com sure Facebook.