UPDATE: 10:58 p.m. EST — Rob Baron, president and CEO of Soundview Paper Company — which owns Marcal paper Mill — issued a statement that said, “On Wednesday afternoon, a devastating fire engulfed our mill in Elmwood Park. In the hours that followed, first responders from multiple surrounding communities exhibited extraordinary bravery, commitment and skill0 risking their lives fighting this terrible blaze in frigid conditions.” He also said the extent of damage to the facility was unknown. “Our top priority in the coming days and weeks will be to support our associates at Marcal whose lives will be directly impacted by this disaster,” he said. Original story: More than 100 firefighters battled a massive fire that consumed a paper plant complex in Elmwood Park, a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. Authorities said that seven fire alarms rang as the flames blazed through the Marcal Paper Mill building, causing the iconic Marcal Paper sign to topple over. The fire broke out around 5:15 p.m. EST and prompted an extensive response from all the fire stations in the area. Initially, the fire was restricted to a single building but constant winds caused it to move in the direction of nearby businesses and homes. Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno, however, assured people there were fire crews keeping an eye on the area. Owing to safety issues, all the nearby businesses were forced to close early, northjersey.com reported. Foligno stated at a press conference the building housed several paper products, including large paper rolls. After the fire started, it didn’t take long for the roof of the building to collapse, which happened by 6:30 p.m. EST. While no injuries were reported, firefighters struggled to put the fire out due to the cold weather and the visibility issues caused by the large amounts of smoke. There were about 200 workers inside the building when the fire broke out, but they were all evacuated safely. “The wind is not helping, and the cold is causing the fire to spread rapidly. The cold slows you down and it causes it to be more difficult to fight the fire,” Foligno said. The “whipping winds” caused the flames to spread rapidly, he further said. “It’s freezing. Firefighters are dealing with water on their faces and on their hands; it’s spraying all over you. Regardless of your equipment, it impacts you and slows you down,” Foligno told reporters. Officials also closed the ramp for Exit 61 on I-80 due to heavy smoke that was billowing toward the highway. According to some drivers on the road, they could feel the heat emanating from the fire all the way inside their cars. Mayor Frank Caramagna said, “It looks very bad — the building will probably be completely destroyed.” He further said that by 7:30 p.m. EST, fire departments from more than 10 towns had responded to the scene and that they had to partially close the street which has the mill entrance as “more and more fire trucks from many different departments reached the scene.” The cause of the fire was not immediately known. This is a developing story. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images<doc-sep>ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Over 100 firefighters on Wednesday were battling a massive multi-alarm blaze that consumed a sprawling paper plant complex in Bergen County, New Jersey. Video from the scene shows billowing smoke and hellish flames tearing through the iconic Marcal Paper building on Market Street in Elmwood Park. The Marcal Paper Plant in Elmwood Park, NJ appears to have just collapsed. Wind is whipping and carrying embers several blocks. Neighbors say fire has spread to nearby homes @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/WKCKycWimX — Jessica Layton (@JLaytonTV) January 31, 2019 Officials say the fire broke out around 5:15 p.m. and triggered an extensive response from area fire companies. Whipping winds made fighting the flames increasingly difficult and carried embers from the raging inferno, creating concern for nearby homes and businesses. Here’s a look at some of the embers raining down from the smoke-filled sky. Fire at #MarcalPaper still burning out of control @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/L7aRNZWjdd — Jessica Layton (@JLaytonTV) January 31, 2019 Mayor Frank Caramagna said the roof had collapsed by 6:30 p.m. Nearby, the ramp for exit 61 on I-80 was closed due to heavy smoke affecting traffic on the busy highway. Officials say the nearly 200 workers inside the mills when flames broke out managed to get out safely. Alexa Felten stood on a corner close by in the frigid temperatures, checking on her father who was among the firefighters on scene. “I’m at a loss for words,” she said. The fire is the second reported this month at the site. In 2017, more than 100 firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze at the plant. Marcal Paper is one of the oldest environmentally friendly paper companies in the United States, according to their website. The company’s been making their products from recycled paper collected from residential neighborhoods for over 50 years. “The full extent of the damage to our facility is not yet known, but we know the impact will be incalculable to the lives of our dedicated workers and our business as a whole,” Rob Baron, President and CEO of parent company Soundview Paper, said in a statement sent to CBS2. “We are fortunate and thankful that none of the nearly 200 employees working at the mill at the time of the fire were injured, and we are assisting the first responders on site in every way we can. Our top priority in the coming days and weeks will be to support our associates at Marcal whose lives will be directly impacted by this disaster.” The cause of the Wednesday’s fire remains under investigation. (© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)<doc-sep>ELMWOOD PARK — The iconic Marcal sign that sat perched atop the Marcal Paper Mills building since the 1940s has fallen. The entire structure was consumed by flames Wednesday night despite hours of toil in the bitter cold by firefighters trying to control the eight-alarm blaze blaze that began in a nearby warehouse. It was nearly midnight before Police Chief and Borough Administrator Mike Foligno reported that the massive fire was "pretty much under control, burning at ground level." Foligno said this was probably the worst fire Elmwood Park has ever seen. "There's very extensive damage – it's hard to get a snapshot now because of the darkness and smoke but a few buildings are completely gone, rubble," he said. Flames were still visible from Route 80 in multiple spots at 4:30 a.m. Thursday. The fire began burning around 5 p.m. in the 45,000-square-foot warehouse building, which acts as a distribution center for Marcal paper products. Soon, it appeared as an out-of-control ball of fire engulfing the entire site, spewing embers toward nearby homes, businesses and the municipal building. Drivers on Route 80 said they could feel the intense heat emanating from the scene from inside their cars on the highway. Onlookers reported explosion-like sounds near the scene that they suspected were pieces of the building falling to the ground. The warehouse, held large paper rolls that are used to make toilet paper, paper towels and tissues. No injuries have been reported, but the frigid temperatures are a concern for first responders, Foligno said, adding that had it not been so cold and windy the fire would have been knocked down already. He said the "whipping" wind feeds the flames and causes them to spread rapidly. “It’s freezing," Foligno said. "Firefighters are dealing with water on their faces and on their hands, it’s spraying all over you. Regardless of your equipment, it impacts you and slows you down.” Rob Baron, president and chief executive officer of Soundview Paper Company, which owns the property, issued a statement. "The full extent of the damage to our facility is not yet known, but we know the impact will be incalculable to the lives of our dedicated workers and our business as a whole," he said. Baron added that the company is grateful that none of its nearly 200 employees who work at the mill were injured. The entire Elmwood Park school district will be closed Thursday, as will roads surrounding the fire. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Arson Squad will be investigating the incident. The fire seemed to be controlling itself by burning out by around 10 p.m., Foligno said, adding that firefighters continued to spray areas that could be dangerous, like gas mains. Demolition equipment and refuse trucks were being staged on River Drive south of the scene in preparation for the eventual cleanup. A small house nearby caught fire from the embers, but crews watching for the cinders quickly extinguished it. “It’s not our first fire here; it’s frequent. It's a paper mill, so it happens a lot," Foligno said, adding that Marcal has its own fire brigade and is "pretty good about controlling fires." Gov. Phil Murphy pledged his support Wednesday night, and is expected to visit the site within the next day or two. Mayor Frank Caramagna said the roof of the warehouse building had collapsed by 6:30 p.m. He said he was told that the building was evacuated when the fire started and that there are no reported injuries. "It looks very bad – the building will probably be completely destroyed," the mayor said of the warehouse. Elmwood Park resident Cliff Callaghan, who lives down the road from the plant, saw the billowing smoke and firetrucks and brought his son Shea to the scene. Callaghan said he heard, using a handheld scanner, that fire departments were trying to get a water line relay set up to draw more water from the Passaic River. River Road was partially closed to traffic due to fire and "more and more firetrucks" from many different departments were at the scene, Caramagna said. By 7:30 p.m., fire departments from 10 towns had responded. The first 911 calls were made at 5:09 p.m., Foligno said. As darkness fell – along with the temperature – thick smoke engulfed the building, billowing out into the surrounding area. Firefighters battling the blaze also had to combat temperatures that plummeted as the polar vortex hit the region. The wind chill made it feel like minus-10 degrees in Elmwood Park at 7:30 p.m. People standing on the corner of Summit Avenue and River Road in Elmwood Park were taking pictures and videos of the section of the Marcal paper plant going up in flames in the bitter cold. Mike Ihnat, who resides on Court Street around the corner from the site, said he was driving from work when he saw the flames. He said he has lived in the area for 25 years and the fire is an unusual sight for him. "I have been here a long time and I have never seen a fire at Marcal," Ihnat said. He said he was not worried about embers from the fire touching his home, but was worried about a friend's home on River Road. When an NJ Transit Lakeland bus heading west on Route 80 approached the area around 6:45 p.m., "we started to smell the fire before we could see it," said passenger Amy Dienes of Mount Olive. "The first things we saw were the thick clouds of smoke. Then there was a clear view of the red and orange flames shooting up from what used to be the roof." Joe Mirrer, an 18-year Marcal employee, was walking back from his car to the building where he works, next to the one on fire. He said the building ablaze known as "2PM" contained paper rolls and propane tanks that helped fuel the fire. He said was worried about the fire spreading further. "There are other small propane tanks across the area that could explode," Mirrer said. "That was the explosions people heard."<doc-sep>UPDATE THURSDAY: ‘Amazing’ no one hurt battling 10-alarm fire that devastated iconic building The Marcal Paper Plant, a battleground against numerous small and not-so-small fires over the decades, was mostly destroyed Wednesday night as a massive blaze tore through the historic factory on the Passaic River in Elmwood Park. Despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters in below zero wind chills, the plant’s large red sign, a North Jersey landmark for decades, collapsed along with the iconic red brick building the held it aloft alongside Route 80 for millions of passing motorists throughout the years. By midnight, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno told NorthJersey.com the fire had mostly been brought “pretty much under control, burning at ground level.” 40 Massive blaze at historic Marcal Paper plant turns building into charred wreckage At 4:30 a.m. flames could still be seen from Route 80. Elmwood Park schools are closed Thursday as are roads in surrounding neighborhoods. Exit 61 on Route 80 is also closed, according to 511nj.org, the state department transportation’s website The Elmwood Park neighborhood that forms a semi-circle around the 45,000 square plant found itself inundated with falling paper embers and choking smoke as firefighters ordered the evacuation of several homes. Traffic slowed to a crawl on Route 80, with one motorist reporting on Twitter that the temperature gauge in his car spiked by about 50 degrees as he passed the plant, an indication of the intensity of the paper-fueled fire. PHOTO: This is what's left of the Marcal Paper Plant in Elmwood Park, NJ after a massive fire tore through the facitory last night #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/DU7tKTOBaN — Steven Bognar (@Bogs4NY) January 31, 2019 A plume of smoke from the massive fire could be seen on radar as far away as the South Shore of Long Island, as video after video from the scene showed flames shooting from the roof of the 86-year-old plant, and explosions of propane tanks could be heard. No injuries were reported. Smoke plume from the massive fire in New Jersey is showing up on radar. The plume is crossing Washington Heights, The Bronx, parts of Queens and out onto Long Island. The plume is showing up at nearly 10,000 feet above the ground too! #nbcct pic.twitter.com/gFrT2S1W0K — Ryan Hanrahan (@ryanhanrahan) January 31, 2019 Earlier, Foligno said that firefighters were unable to bring the blaze under control because of the weather, and that it was being allowed to burn itself out. Temperatures dropped to nine degrees in Elmwood Park as of 9 p.m., with a wind chill of minus-16. He said that embers spread to several nearby homes, resulting in small fires that were quickly extinguished. Likewise, smoldering embers landed on the roof the municipal building and were doused by firefighters. A string of homes closest to the fire were evacuated, he said, and the town opened a warming center at the borough recreation building. The cause of the fire was still under investigation Wednesday night. The Marcal Paper plant was destroyed in a massive, wind-fueled fire on Wednesday night despite firefighters best efforts to contain the blaze. (Photo courtesy: Michael Jannicelli) Rob Baron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soundview Paper Company, which now runs Marcal, said none of the 200 employees working at the facility at the time of the fire were injured. “The full extent of the damage to our facility is not yet known, but we know the impact will be incalculable to the lives of our dedicated workers and our business as a whole,” Baron said in a statement. “Our top priority in the coming days and weeks will be to support our associates at Marcal whose lives will be directly impacted by this disaster.” The plant was founded by papermaker Nicholas Marcalus in 1932, who came to the United States from Sicily as a teenager and went on to hold dozens of patents, and was taken over by his son Robert in 1979. He operated the family-owned plant until 2008, and died in 2014. The firm grew to more than $200 million in annual sales of paper towels and other products made entirely from recycled fiber, most of which were sold in the Northeast. Coming in for landing into Newark above the 7-alarm Marcal Paper warehouse fire. Hope they’re able to contain it soon. pic.twitter.com/s7fK1yAHp9 — Alex King (@AlKingMe) January 31, 2019 Soundview Paper Company, is owned by private investment firm Atlas Holdings of Greenwich, Connecticut. The site has a long history of fires including a 2017 blaze where over 100 firefighters extinguished a 5-alarm inferno at the plant. Crews were able to contain a 2014 fire that started in an exterior storage area where the company keeps recycled bales of paper. On Jan. 9, a small fire was reported on the roof the building, but it was brought under control in about two hours. Fire raging at Marcal paper plant Firefighters battle a raging blaze at the Marcal paper plant in Elmwood Park. Posted by NorthJersey.com on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.<doc-sep>
@ABC7NY There’s a fire now at The Marcal Factory in Elmwood Park, NJ. pic.twitter.com/lPNe6cFa53 — LV (@LVlovely) January 30, 2019 @ABC7NY fire Marcal Elmwood Park NJ pic.twitter.com/EGD0PqTJKg — NJ Coco La Rumbera (@NJcocolarumbera) January 30, 2019 EMBED >More News Videos CeFaan Kim has the latest on the residents living near the Marcal Plant fire who evacuated their homes. Photo courtesy @KierstenBarnet via Twitter I am monitoring this terrible situation closely. I thank God for our first responders this frigid night. They are in my prayers. I will be visiting the site as soon as possible and offering any help that we can to the community and what could be almost 500 affected employees. — Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) January 31, 2019 ELMWOOD PARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Firefighters continued their efforts through the day Thursday following a devastating fire that destroyed the Marcal Paper Mills facility in Elmwood Park.The fire broke out at about 5 p.m. Wednesday at the plant on Market Street and went to eight alarms.Huge paper rolls in the warehouse were fully engulfed in flames, and the roof collapsed. All emergency responders were pulled from the building for safety reasons.The fire spread to propane tanks and other combustibles. Firefighters eventually decided to just let the fire burn itself out though it continued to smolder throughout the day.Black smoke could be seen from as far away as Route 80 in Hackensack.About 300 firefighters responded, but the strong wind and frigid temperatures made their efforts that much more difficult. "The main ingredient there is the wind and that just feeds a flame and feeds a fire and causes it to spread rapidly," said Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno.There have been no reports of injuries. Firefighters from at least 50 localities in the area responded.Gov. Phil Murphy toured the site Thursday to see the devastation first-hand and promised to assist the hundreds of Marcal workers who lost their jobs when the plant burned to the ground. "What happened was an extraordinary calamity, and thank God no injuries or no loss of lives," said Murphy.A demolition crew will go into the building and pull apart more of the rubble so that firefighters can extinguish more hot spots.Fire officials were concerned about embers from the blaze affecting nearby homes and businesses on River Drive, at the east end of the factory.Residents who live near the plant were evacuated from their homes as a safety precaution.Stuart Cameron, who lives just five homes down from the plant, said he knew from the start they would have to evacuate. "The wind was blowing it right towards our house," said Cameron. "Chunks of burning paper falling down onto the roofs, the trees, the grass. The grass, constantly having to stomp out the fire. "The fire caused heavy smoke condition on area roads, and the ramp on I-80 to Exit 61 was closed in both directions. The road closures have prompted area schools to close for Thursday.A passenger took a photo of the fire as his plane was approaching Newark Airport.New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell said he would be visiting the site to offer help to the community and the affected employees.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.The fire is the second reported this month at the plant. In 2017, more than 100 firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze there.Rob Baron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soundview Paper Company, issued the following statement about the fire:"On Wednesday afternoon, a devastating fire engulfed our mill in Elmwood Park. In the hours that followed, first responders from multiple surrounding communities exhibited extraordinary bravery, commitment and skill - risking their lives fighting this terrible blaze in frigid conditions. We are enormously grateful for their selfless service. The full extent of the damage to our facility is not yet known, but we know the impact will be incalculable to the lives of our dedicated workers and our business as a whole. We are fortunate and thankful that none of the nearly 200 employees working at the mill at the time of the fire were injured, and we are assisting the first responders on site in every way we can. Our top priority in the coming days and weeks will be to support our associates at Marcal whose lives will be directly impacted by this disaster. We will have further updates as the situation unfolds." ----------