GREENDALE, Ind. (AP) -- A fire at a southeastern Indiana plastics recycling factory continued burning into a second day Friday, leaving the six-story brick building in danger of collapse, the state fire marshal said.
The blaze at the Alternative Plastic Services plant has burned so hot that it melted firefighters' helmet visors and caused the building's concrete to crack.
Fire Marshal Roger Johnson said firefighters were working to save adjacent buildings, which also contain flammable material.
''This is one of the most difficult fires I've seen in my life,'' he said. ''We're not trying to fight this fire, we're trying to cover the surrounding building.''
Johnson said the initial belief of investigators was that the blaze began as an electrical fire on the building's first floor.
As many as 100 firefighters from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana were at the scene Thursday before officials decided to pull them away from the warehouse building about 20 miles west of Cincinnati after growing cracks were seen in the concrete.
Environmental agency workers were monitoring the smoke from the fire and had determined that the air quality was still good, police said.
At least four firefighters were taken to the Dearborn County Hospital, suffering from apparent heat exhaustion.
The fire sent out huge plumes of black smoke that could be seen from miles away.
''I will say, I don't think I've ever been in a fire this hot,'' said Lt. Kevin Turner of the Aurora Fire Department.
About 50 to 75 people work at the plant, said company salesman Greg Winans. He said none was hurt.
According to the company's Web site, the business grinds up used plastic products and resells the material. The company has been operating for 12 years in two of the buildings that had housed the Schenley Distillery, which closed in 1988.
The two buildings are part of a 200-plus-acre industrial complex, most of which has been abandoned.
