(Sedgwick County, Kan.) – Sedgwick County Fire District 1 (SCFD1) has determined the cause of the fire that burned for over seven (7) days at Evergreen Recycling as spontaneous combustion. Fire investigators spoke with dozens of people and watched hours of closed caption video to determine the fire started at the southeast corner of the most northern pile of wood debris. The only cause that could not be ruled out was spontaneous ignition, which occurs when low ignition temperature materials (like wood, wood chips and mulch) self-heat and auto-ignite. Firefighters were able to leave the scene for good on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, after fighting the fire since the evening of Oct. 30, 2022. The owner and employees of Evergreen Recycling played a critical role in helping to control the fire and its eventual extinguishment.
SCFD1 estimates the fire loss for Evergreen Recycling at $1,000,000.00 in raw wood products. SCFD1 is still compiling information to estimate the cost associated with the extinguishment of the fire. The Fire Prevention Division of SCFD1 will be working with Evergreen Recycling in making modifications to combustible material pile sizes, firebreaks, water supply and other preventive measures that will help prevent or more quickly mitigate any future fire event.
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