Newton Firefighters Battle Blaze in Big Mulch Pile at Landfill

Newton Firefighters took on what was described as an “extra large version of a fire in the landscaping,” on Tuesday night.

A fire in a pile of mulch at the city’s Landfill on Rumford Avenue required the help of Newton city workers to completely douse, said Newton Fire Lt. Eric Fricke. The pile was described as 20 feet tall and 50 feet wide, according to scanner reports.

“It looks like a smoldering mulch fire,” Fricke said. “It turned into a deep seeded fire. We wanted to spread it out so we called in some of the city guys with front loaders.”

The cause of the fire is not known, but Fricke said it may have been from a discarded cigarette butt.