A blaze that raged at a recycling plant in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, for nearly 24 hours before being declared out Tuesday was fought by volunteers from about 75 fire departments.

The fire broke out at about 4:45 a.m. at the Nicos Polymers Group on Bangor Road (Route 191).It was officially declared out at 3:34 a.m. today, but crews were still on the scene at 7 a.m.Local units dispatched to the area for either firefighting duties or stand-by status were Palmerton, East Penn Township, Bowmanstown, Franklin Township, Walnutport, Lehigh Township, Slatington, Polk Township and Kunkletown.Rory Koons, a member of the Aquashicola Fire Department, said his company was also requested. However, because of the concern that there might be a shortage of units, especially tank trucks, if a local incident occurred, Aquashicola opted to keep its equipment at the fire station.Koons, a veteran firefighter, said he feels this was a "prudent decision."Local firefighters said they don't recall ever being dispatched that distance for mutual aid.Koons said he can recall one time being dispatched to South Whitehall Township for a lumber yard blaze.The Plainfield Township fire sent massive clouds of black smoke high into the air and challenged 200 firefighters, who spent much of the day knocking down the heavy flames.The intense heat and flames destroyed the 180,000-square-foot fabricated steel structure and billowed thick smoke plumes that could be seen for miles.Plainfield Township Fire Chief Greg Dawe said three employees were inside the building when the fire broke out, but all got out safely, according to The Morning Call of Allentown.The cause of the fire remained under investigation, he said.The state Department of Environmental Protection was on the scene to monitor air quality and water runoff, but reported no problems.Firefighters had a tough time getting enough water to fight the fire, supplementing their own tankers with water trucks on loan from dozens of fire companies and a nearby landfill. They managed to keep the flames from threatening a large propane tank.The building contained plastics products and a large number of boxes and wooden pallets, landlord Jim Knicos told The Express-Times of Easton.Knicos sold Nicos Polymers four years ago. The company was in bankruptcy when recycling firm Coll Materials of Zanesville, Ohio, purchased it earlier this year. Coll had intended to close the Plainfield Township plant and transfer 70 jobs to a new facility it is planning to open in Lehigh County.Renee Coll told The Express-Times that she and her husband, Brian, are still moving forward with the purchase and insurance would cover the loss of materials and equipment they had planned to move to the new facility."We're just really grateful nobody was hurt," she said.(The Associated Press contributed to this article)