Bangor schools won’t be holding outdoor recesses over concerns about the smoke from the Orrington trash plant fire.
The city’s schools have shut down their external air handling units and will just be circulating internal air on Thursday and Friday, according to Superintendent Marie Robinson.
Additionally, recesses and physical education classes will be kept indoors.
“We have done this as a precaution for all schools, as the smoke from the fire was present in areas of the city early this morning,” Robinson said in a Thursday notice to parents.
On Tuesday night, a massive fire broke out at Eagle Point Energy Center, formerly known as Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. Orrington’s assistant fire chief, Chad Bean, said early Wednesday morning that the blaze has been contained, but it will likely take several days to fully extinguish.
That’s in part because firefighters, who came from as far away as Levant and Eddington, have been unable to safely enter the 200-by-400-foot building where the blaze is burning on the tipping floor.
In the meantime, Orrington and Hampden residents have been advised to keep their windows closed because of the significant smoke given off by the fire.
While a cause isn’t yet known, the facility’s owners said lithium-ion batteries likely sparked the conflagration, an explanation that has been met with skepticism from Orrington fire officials.
The fire is expected to burn for several days.
