A fuel oil terminal on Hale Street in Haverhill was damaged and seven vehicles, including two oil trucks, were destroyed, during a two-alarm blaze that began late this morning.
No injuries were reported, but heavy black smoke was visible throughout the city as flames engulfed the Broco Energy terminal along the railroad tracks at 168 Hale St. Firefighters were first dispatched at 11:39 a.m. and a second alarm came less than 10 minutes later. Fire departments from around the area provided mutual aid.
Haverhill Fire Chief Robert M. O’Brien was on scene and later told WHAV Engine 2 out of Sixteenth Avenue happened to be out and arrived within a minute of the call.
“Fantastic job given the potential down there. They were able to get it under control, most of the fire, probably within not even 20 minutes, half hour, that it was in check,” he said.
Hale Street and parts of Burke Street and Eighth Avenue were blocked off to traffic, rail traffic was halted and National Grid dispatched to cut power to the building and surrounding areas.
The chief said the fire was limited to the fueling terminal and the cause is under investigation.
“There were seven total vehicles involved. There were two fuel oil, home heating oil, trucks at the fill station when the incident occurred,” O’Brien explained.
Help at the scene and coverage for Haverhill firefighters and trucks came from Lawrence, North Andover, Groveland, Georgetown, Merrimac and others.