Fire officials say a chemical may have started a fire Tuesday morning at the Waste Management building in Yonkers.

The rubbish fire spread to piles of papers, cans and bottles. The flames erupted just feet away from multiple gas pumps at a Sunoco gas station.

Workers inside the tin building on Yonkers Avenue say recyclable material caught fire and the flames quickly grew out of control. There were four employees inside when the fire began.

The employees on duty for the private company tried to put out the fire, but couldn't do so without the help of 13 fire companies.

"My co-workers had grabbed a fire extinguisher," says Steven Huber. "We grabbed fire hoses, but the water pressure was too low so we couldn't actually put out the fire at all."

There were no reports of any injuries.