NBC NEWS:A fire tearing through a recycling plant in Brooklyn has made the building so unstable that firefighters are being forced to fight the blaze from outside, and it could take a long time to put it out, fire officials said.

The fire at the recycling plant on Humboldt Street in Greenpoint started at around 7 p.m., according to the FDNY. It quickly escalated to a four-alarm fire.
Firefighters are unable to get inside the building to fight the fire because it has become unstable, a fire official said. At one point, witnesses at the scene saw one of the warehouse's exterior walls crumbling to the ground.

"When these fires are like this, where the buildings become unstable, we can't get in close enough to quickly put it out," said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Jack Mooney.

Crews worked overnight batting the flames, the FDNY said. As of early Wednesday morning the blaze hadn't been brought under control.

"It'll take a long time to put this out. It's just a deep-seated fire, it'll take a lot of water," Mooney said Tuesday evening. "Unfortunately we just don't have that good an access."

One firefighter sustained minor injuries. No one has been injured in the fire and no nearby buildings are at risk, Mooney said.

The fire was sending up thick plumes of black smoke which could be seen from as far as Hoboken, N.J.