Nuisance blazes fire up again at ex-Agmet plant
PHOTO COURTESY / McADOO FIRE - The scene of a fire at the former American Cable Recyclers plant in Delano Township on August 27, 2025.
DELANO TOWNSHIP – More than two years after the Sentinel reported that fires were becoming a nuisance at a long-abandoned plant here, nothing’s changed.
The former American Cable Recyclers plant on the Lofty Road between Delano and Lofty has been abandoned since 2010. The plant itself burned in an arson fire in 2013.
In April 2023, speaking to the Sentinel at the scene of a fire on the property, Delano Fire Chief Scott Derr described the plant and fires at it as an “ongoing problem,” noting that evening’s fire was the second that day in the same spot. At that time, Derr said there had been six fires in the immediate area in the prior three months.
Firefighters in the area have been experiencing déjà vu lately as the Ryan Township Fire Company said a fire just after midnight early Wednesday morning was the fifth dispatched at the property in the past few weeks.
This morning’s fire was handled by firefighters from Ryan Township, Delano, McAdoo, Hometown, and Mahanoy City. Crews found heavy fire from multiple trash fires on the property.
“To say the property is a nuisance is an understatement to all locals. The property is a dumping ground for garbage for those who don’t want to pay transfer center fees,” the Ryan Township Fire Company said in a Facebook post. “The property is also frequented by large groups of individuals who enjoy setting up large speakers and playing music into the early morning hours.”
The property today is owned by Advanced Consulting, Inc.. According to the Schuylkill County Parcel Locator, the company’s address is listed as 215 Coal Street in Port Carbon. Though, according to Pennsylvania Department of State records, there is no company by that name based in Port Carbon or Schuylkill County.
Advanced Consulting does own 215 Coal Street and, for that property, their address is listed as a virtual office in Manhattan, a few blocks from the Empire State Building.
They bought the property for $5,000 in 2020.
The property has been in a sorry state for well over a decade.
It house the American Cable Recyclers company and the Agmet Corporation, the latter using the property for silver recycling. Those activities led to contamination which led to its placement on the federal Superfund list.
The plant is in an isolated area, over a mile away from any other structures. The parcel is wholly surrounded by land owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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