Aided by fire and police from across southern New England, Westport Fire Department extinguishes massive blaze

The Westport Fire Department battled a large blaze that started early Tuesday afternoon.

At just after 1:30 p.m., Westport Firefighters responded to a fire at Excel Recycling on Charlotte White Road.

According to the department, the deep-seated fire involved a very large pile of recyclable materials, requiring tens of thousands of gallons of water to fully extinguish, along with heavy equipment to break the pile apart. With no hydrants in the immediate area, 13 tankers were called in to assist with the water supply operation. Those tankers came from Westport, Dartmouth Fire District 3, Tiverton, Little Compton, Freetown, Rochester, Berkley, Middletown RI, Raynham, Lakeville, Acushnet, Rehoboth, and Middleborough.

There were no injuries.

Dartmouth Fire District 2 covered the Town during the operation, while Tiverton, Dartmouth, and Fall River EMS responded to handle unrelated medical emergencies in Town that came in during the fire.

WFD thanked the Westport Police Department for aiding with traffic control and for flying their drone, which proved to be a very significant asset.

“The drone was unbelievably effective in aiding our fireground operations. We thank our E911 dispatcher for handling communications, our EMA division for providing rehab, and the Deputy Harbor Master who was driving by the scene and provided us with a critical radio report of what we had before any 911 calls were received. Fire Chiefs from the surrounding area, along with the Deputy Director from Bristol County Control (SEMRECC), responded to the scene to offer their assistance, and it was greatly appreciated. We also thank the owner of Bootleg Barbeque for stopping by the fire scene with cold drinking water for those on the fireground.”

“Despite our limited staffing, our members did an excellent job of setting up the scene and formulating a plan, and once enough water was on scene, the plan proved to be effective. Strong work by all involved.”