By Della Hasselle and Michael Ventura
DNAinfo Staff
FAR WEST SIDE — A fire engulfed a Dept. of Sanitation facility at Pier 97 on the far West Side Saturday afternoon, sending a plume of black smoke into the air over Manhattan.
The fire started in a Sanitation trailer that acted as a locker room where workers would stash their uniforms, personal clothing and other items, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.
The blaze spread to the north section of the pier, which is near a Con Edison facility that houses fuel lines, Deputy Assistant Chief Ronald Spadafora told reporters. Firefighters were able to use a "large caliber stream to prevent the fire from spreading to those fuel lines," he said.
Up to four Sanitation trailers burned, fire officials said, as did parts of the wooden pier. The pier was not in danger of collapsing, Spadafora said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, FDNY and Sanitation officials said. A Sanitation spokesman said it was to early to determine how much damage had been done to the facility.
The fire broke out just before 3:30 p.m., fire officials reported. It was under control by late afternoon.
More than 30 FDNY units responded to the fire, including rescue units, marine units and divers in the water. The divers worked to douse flames to the part of the wooden pier near the water, Spadafora said.
Pier 97 is where the Sanitation Department maintains Manhattan Garage 7, a temporary facility that had been used while a permanent one was under construction, according to a Sanitation spokesman.
It was primarily used for storage, and city garbage was not kept there, a Sanitation spokesman said.
Trailers were set up there for workers to change clothes in between their shifts. Workers who stashed stuff in the trailers over the holiday weekend lost all their personal items, a Sanitation supervisor told NY1. Workers on duty had just enough time time to grab keys to their vehicles and move them away from the fire, the supervisor told the network.
The fire also temporarily halted traffic on the West Side Highway.
Pier 97 is slated to become part of Hudson River Park's Clinton Cove section, according to the Hudson River Park Trust.
