A 3-alarm fire gutted a Bond Hill warehouse Wednesday that stored paper and plastic recyclable products.
Sixty-six Cincinnati firefighters responded to the fire, which produced thick, black smoke. Heavy smoke and fire were showing through the roof when firefighters arrived.
The fire in a warehouse of Waste Reduction Specialties, 4670 Paddock Road, started around 8:30 a.m. It was under control by 10:30. The contents of the 100-foot by 100-foot concrete warehouse, including paper rolls and books, made the fire hard to extinguish, fire officials said. The roof collapsed and one wall partially collapsed. An electric transformer also exploded.
A crane was brought in to knock down the concrete walls and dig up combustible materials so that they could be extinguished.
The building was "a total loss," but no dollar estimate was immediately available, District Chief Mike Kroeger said.
There were no evacuations of neighboring businesses and no one was in the building when the fire broke out.
Two firefighters were treated at local hospitals and released: one for a fast heart rate and the other for a pinched nerve in a hand.
District Chief Glenn Coleman said access to the building was difficult because railroad tracks and several wood storage pallets kept firefighters from getting trucks very close. They had to drag hoses to the fire.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
