Dietz & Watson Clears Out Last of Rotted Meat From Fire Site
By David Madden
DELANCO, N.J. (CBS) -- Officials have announced that the last of the rancid meat left in the wake of this month's mammoth fire at a Dietz & Watson distribution facility in Burlington County, NJ (see related story) would be gone by the end of the day.
And it was. But getting things back to normal in the Delanco area will take some time.
County officials at first thought it would take up to eight weeks to move out all 35 million pounds of the soaked and rotting meat, but help from private trash haulers has sped up the process significantly.
"They've taken out more than 600 truckloads of debris and spoiled food since September 11th, which was the date we were given access to the building," says Dietz & Watson spokesman Steve Aaron. "It's a significant achievement because we needed to get that spoiled food and other debris out of the building."
Demolition will take some time. And Aaron says the company is continuing to work on the pervasive odor that neighbors have had to endure (see related story), spraying a deodorizer not just around the building but directly on the wreckage.
He says some neighbors have noticed the difference in the air, but concedes it will take a while to get rid of the stench completely.
