LACKAWANNA, N.Y. — Five years ago to the day, police and fire departments from across were in the City of Lackawanna fighting a massive fire at the former Bethlehem Steel site.
What they didn't know was that they would be there for nearly two weeks, getting that fire under control and finally putting it out.
The smoke from the former Bethlehem Steel site could be seen miles away.
Firefighters from across the area spent 11 trying days getting the fire at the former Bethlehem Steel site under control.
"The magnitude of the fire itself, and walking around the corner and seeing this building that used to be here, that whole building at one point was burning, and at the time that building was probably 60 feet high, and it was just a big ball of fire," said James Fino, chief of the Lackawanna Fire Department.
For nearby residents, there were deep concerns about the air quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration were collecting air samples and learned that airborne health hazards were low. Many people had to be evacuated from their homes and found soot inside.
"We evacuated a lot of people out of here, due to the fact that the wind had shifted. One of our greatest accomplishments, I feel, is that we had no loss of life, we had minimal injuries, minor injuries, and we lost none of the neighboring homes," Fino said.
After an extensive investigation by Buffalo Fire, the department concluded they could not find a cause of the fire.
There's optimism that area that burned will be reused.
"The plan for it right now is a 10-acre solar field that would also entitle landscaping in between the residential neighborhood," said Richard Stanton, the development director in Lackawanna. "It's more energy for here, there's always a need for more electric energy right here."
And behind these walls, there are businesses.
"There's lots of businesses here. I think we counted up to 20 businesses here. There's a lot of warehousing activity that go on here," Stanton said.
A big difference from 5 years ago.
The owner of the property remains Great Lakes Industrial Development.
Phil Pantano, a spokesperson for the company, says the expected start of construction on the solar farm is this spring, with construction expected to wrap up by year end of 2022.