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UTICA, N.Y. -- A chemical fire at the Oneida-Herkimer Recycling Center in Utica forced six employees into isolation Tuesday afternoon.

The Utica fire chief says materials meant for the Ava Landfill ended up at the recycling center instead. When the material came into contact with water, it caused a chemical reaction and sparked a fire.

Six people needed to be decontaminated. Everyone else was sent home and no one was seriously hurt.

Putting out the fire was tricky. Emergency crews had to use special drying agents instead of more water.

"It became kind of a complication situation, but fortunately, it's not in the middle of a residential area and nobody breathed in some bad stuff," said Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks.

The fire was out by about 4 p.m.

A haz-mat team and the state DEC helped at the scene.