Hornell transfer station closed after fire: What happened and when it may reopen

A pair of fires at the Steuben County landfill transfer station in Hornell over the Memorial Day weekend has resulted in the site's temporary closure.

Here's the latest on when it may reopen. In the meantime, county officials said transfer station customers have other options for refuse.

Fire in a trailer, then a rekindle

A fire in a garbage collection trailer at the county Road 64 facility was reported at about 5:15 p.m. on Saturday. The South Hornell Fire Department, with assistance from North Hornell and Canisteo firefighters along with Butler Construction personnel, put the fire out, county officials said.

Crews were called back to the facility at about 2 a.m. Sunday after an apparent rekindle sparked a fire in the office building, officials said.

No injuries were reported from either incident. The cause has not been determined.

“The fire departments did a wonderful job minimizing the damage to the county property,” said Eric Rose, Steuben County Public Works commissioner.

Rose said firefighters checked for remaining hot spots with heat guns after the initial fire, but nothing dangerous was detected.

As for how the trailer fire began, Rose said any number of materials could have sparked it.

“We looked where the main burn spots were but you could not differentiate any specific cause of the fire," he said.

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Hornell transfer station damage being assessed

Rose said the station will remain closed until further notice, but the timing for a re-opening should be available soon.

He said contractors were at the facility Tuesday and he is waiting to learn their assessments.

“At this point it is a matter of getting the facility safe," Rose said. "In the office break room, there was some wood structure that had to come down because we could not occupy it with the way it was damaged from the fire."

Rose said the facility also sustained damage to its electric system and its communication lines.

"Once that is all up and running, we are hoping to have a good bill of health to get opened back up and limit the pain to the public," Rose said.

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Alternate options for Hornell transfer station patrons

Hornell transfer station customers have other options for their refuse until the local facility is up and running again. Officials suggested Hornell patrons use the transfer station located at 2078 Dieter Road in Wayland or the Bath landfill, 5632 Turnpike Road.

Private contractor Kenny J's Rubbish advised customers in a Facebook post that he will start some routes earlier to account for taking waste to Bath.

Neal Simon on Twitter @HornellTribNeal. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.