Watch raw video of large pallet fire in Phoenix. Blaze caused explosions. Damaged buildings & vehicles.

Article by Chelsea Smith and Jolie McCullough, The Arizona Republic:

The fire that started Wednesday and consumed thousands of wooden pallets and damaged buildings was under control and cleaned up by 2 a.m. Thursday morning.

Almost 100 firefighters worked on the second-alarm fire in Phoenix for nearly eight hours

The fire started in stacks of the wooden pallets that surrounded an industrial building near 43rd Avenue and Roeser Road in Phoenix, Public Information Officer for the Phoenix Fire Department, Captain Tony Mure, said.

Firefighters arrived at the fire around 6 p.m Wednesday afternoon and according to Mure, they were able to tame the fire around 9:30 p.m.

The crew also heard explosions while trying to calm the flames. Mure said that is likely because there are chemicals and solvents in industrial areas.

The pallets surrounded the building and Phoenix Fire Department Chief Frank Salomon said pallets are used to hold barrels containing chemicals and can be dangerous. Once the pallets burn, the smoke can be very dangerous to breathe in because of the chemicals.

Firefighters were at the scene mopping up ashes and making sure all the fire was out until around 2 a.m.

A couple of buildings, a tractor trailer and multiple fork lifts were damaged due to the fire, Mure said.

Employees of the companies were in the building at the time.

No injuries with employees or firefighters were reported.

The fire was hard to put out apparently due to the high winds and the shortage of water in hydrants, Mure said.

43rd Avenue between Broadway Road and Southern Avenue were closed down while the fire was still burning.