Heavy flames destroyed a storage shed at Cavicchio Greenhouses in Sudbury on Wednesday as fire crews from multiple communities, as well as Hanscom Air Force Base, responded to the three-alarm fire, according to officials.
A massive plume of black smoke wafted over the sprawling business located on Codjer Lane, the fire department tweeted.
The Sudbury Fire Department could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday by the Globe.
Firefighters responded to at Cavicchio Greenhouses at approximately 2:40 p.m., Sudbury Fire Chief John Whalen told reporters at the scene. They found a single building “fully involved” in fire, and sounded multiple alarms, Whalen said, according to video broadcast by WCVB-TV.
Roughly 70 firefighters from several area departments, including Marlborough, Lincoln, Concord, Southborough, Stow, and the Hanscom base, responded. Whalen said.
Jake Wark, a spokesman for the state Department of Fire Services, said the agency had “deployed a rehab unit to support firefighters at the scene.”
Whalen said that it was a “very extensive and laboring process” for fire crews to bring in enough water to douse the flames.
“This particular complex has a lack of water,” he said. “We’ve had fires here previously, and it takes a lot of time to establish a water supply.”
Four tanker trucks from surrounding communities responded. Crews also pumped water from an irrigation pond on the property, Whalen told the station.
The town of Sudbury posted a photo at 3:44 p.m. of a massive plume of smoke rising from the greenhouse complex located on Codjer Lane.
“From SPD: The Fire Department is battling a large structure fire on Codjer Ln.,” the town tweeted. “We are asking residents in this area to CLOSE WINDOWS to help keep the smoke out of their homes. Motorists and businesses using Cavicchio Greenhouses are asked to avoid the area.”
From SPD: The Fire Department is battling a large structure fire on Codjer Ln. We are asking residents in this area to CLOSE WINDOWS to help keep the smoke out of their homes. Motorists and businesses using Cavicchio Greenhouses are asked to avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/JF0SGUJlw1
— Town of Sudbury (@Sudbury_Town) October 12, 2022
Whalen said the smoke advisory was a precautionary measure, while noting that state hazmat teams were on the scene to perform air monitoring checks.
The fire had been brought “under control” by about 6 p.m., Whalen said.
The blaze originated in a large metal building that stored machinery and other equipment for Cavicchio’s plant-growing operations, Whalen said. That building was deemed a “total loss,” he said, but responders managed to stop the fire from spreading to the other greenhouses.
Cavicchio Greenhouses, a commercial plant wholesaler, could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe. Camilo Fonseca can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @fonseca_esq.
