Residents press Camden County to act after repeated EMR fires in Waterfront South; commissioners say they are coordinating with city and state

Residents from Waterfront South and nearby communities told the Camden County Board of Commissioners they want more aggressive oversight and enforcement after a recent large fire at EMR's Camden facility produced thick smoke and lingering air impacts.

"The air was terrible in Collingswood, you know, giant dark clouds that lingered till, like, 08:30, 09:00 at night," said Kate Delaney of Collingswood. She urged the county to "hold EMR accountable and make sure that an environmental disaster of this sort doesn't happen again."

Kevin Barfield of Camden for Clean Air and a waterfront task force said the problem is operational and site-location related, not just a question of installing suppression equipment. "It's still about operation. It's still about the location of where that particular shredder is at next to the CCMUA," Barfield said. He and other speakers questioned whether automotive shredder residue and other materials stored on-site are being handled safely and noted concerns about runoff and air toxins.

Mike Morgan, a Waterfront South resident, said residents have been displaced by multiple fires and described the recurring disruptions: "This has happened 5 times in the last 4 years... We've had to evacuate 3 times in [my child's] short life." Robert Bennett of Oaklyn described severe smoke and nausea in his town after the most recent plume.

County officials said they are pressing EMR for operational changes. Director Cappelli said the county and the City of Camden "have demanded, together with the city that EMR come up with a fire suppression system that will resolve this issue. The conditions there and the fire were unacceptable." She said the county expected to learn more about the company's proposed suppression system soon and that, if EMR does not act, "we will explore what other options we need to take to prevent that type of fire from happening in the future." Deputy Director McDonald said the county was "taking this extremely seriously" and that county leaders had joined city officials on a call to discuss next steps.

Speakers also urged reclassification and stricter oversight of automotive shredder residue (ASR). One public commenter proposed that the state classify ASR as hazardous waste (a standard currently applied in California) to restrict on-site storage and require stricter controls.

The county does not yet have a publicly released fire marshal or DEP investigation report in the transcript; county officials said they would share information as it becomes available and would coordinate with the city and state agencies to ensure corrective action.

Why it matters: Recurrent fires at a large industrial facility adjacent to critical county infrastructure raise air-quality, public-health and continuity-of-service concerns for surrounding neighborhoods.

What the county said it would do next: County officials said they will continue to coordinate with the City of Camden, review EMR's proposed fire-suppression plan, and pursue additional enforcement or regulatory options if the company does not implement prompt, acceptable changes.