Overheated conveyor belt may have sparked 2..

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An overheated conveyor belt may have been a factor in a two-alarm blaze that left much of a West Jordan recycling plant still smoldering Tuesday morning.

West Jordan Fire Battalion Chief Steve Holmes said cleanup of a large quantity of partially burned paper and plastic refuse continued Tuesday, and investigators would have to sift through the Waste Management Inc. building at 8750 S. 4000 West before confirming their suspicions.

"It's really a mess out there still," Holmes said. "Cleanup will take a while."

He said about 20 employees were in the building, one of two large recycling structures on the site, when the fire broke out about 6:30 p.m. Monday near the conveyor belt feeding a paper and plastic compactor. All of the workers evacuated the building safely.

The main fire was out within 20 minutes of WJFD crews' arrival, but the work of discovering and dousing hot spots continued all night.

Holmes said a damage estimate would not be available until investigators had a clearer idea of structural damage.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims

Overheated conveyor belt may have sparked 2-alarm W. Jordan blaze