Clouds, Coffee, and a Careful Cleanup: A Friendly Update After Saturday’s Newburgh Fire
2025-09-08
Good morning, Tri‑State—let’s ease into the week with a friendly news hug and a clear cup of “here’s what’s up.”
On Saturday afternoon, a fire broke out at the PBTT manufacturing facility on Vann Road in Newburgh. Crews from across
the area responded fast, HazMat included, and spent hours working through smoke, hotspots, and a handful of pop‑and‑boom
moments that made everyone’s heart jump once or twice. Shelter‑in‑place advisories rolled out (and later rolled back)
as professionals did the careful, methodical work of keeping neighbors safe and the scene contained.
The short version for your Monday brain: the big flames are down, the science folks checked the air, and officials are
now focused on cleanup and tracking any lingering effects. Most people can go about their day with regular windows, regular
breathing, and irregular gratitude for firefighters who treat chaos like a crossword puzzle they’ve already solved in pencil.
Here’s the neighbor‑to‑neighbor rundown:
• The when & where: the call came in mid‑afternoon Saturday on the 5600 block of Vann Road. Multiple departments
coordinated, and the response stayed big until the danger stayed small.
• The pop‑and‑boom part: a few explosions were reported on scene—that’s not unusual with industrial fires. Think
“equipment under stress,” not “Hollywood dragon.” Crews built space and safety around the hot spots and kept it
from getting personal with nearby structures.
• Air quality: monitoring teams reported no hazardous materials detected in local air samples around Newburgh.
That’s the “exhale” emoji in real life. At the same time, officials reminded everyone that ash can be caustic—
the tidy‑up plan is “don’t touch, don’t snuffle, don’t track it inside.”
• Water & wildlife: there’s some concern about runoff reaching nearby water, including Vann Park Pond. That’s being
checked as part of the post‑fire assessment. If you’re a regular at the pond, consider this a “look, don’t touch” week.
• Those shelter‑in‑place messages: some were recommended or expanded into parts of Kentucky as a precaution, then
lifted after additional testing. If your group chat felt like a weather radio, that’s because the system did its job—
cautious first, confirm later.
• The “what was burning?” question: officials say they know, but they’re letting the formal statements come out in the
right order. Translation: facts first, drama never.
What you can do today (the practical, boring, useful part):
1) Skip any ash play. Rinse off patios and porches gently, pointing water away from drains and gardens when you can.
2) If a dusting reached your car, use gloves and a soft rinse instead of a vigorous scrub.
3) Keep pets from nibbling mysterious flakes—tell them snacks come from the kitchen, not the wind.
4) If you notice anything unusual near local ponds or streams (dead fish, odd coloration), snap a photo and report it to local officials.
And because we like a little sunshine with our updates: shout‑out to the teams who worked through the night so the rest of us
could sleep, to the dispatchers whose calm is contagious, and to the neighbors who checked on each other with the right mix of
“you good?” and fresh coffee. The Tri‑State does “together” really, really well.
We’ll keep linking to official updates as they land. For now: open your windows if you like, keep the brooms gentle,
and save the dramatic stories for the next backyard campfire (the safe kind, with marshmallows). Stay kind out there.