PITTSFIELD — A fire broke out under a metal platform at the BCEP Solid Waste transfer station Wednesday morning, and firefighters had it under control a little over an hour later.

The station, located on Route 107, serves as the recycling facility dropoff for the towns of Pittsfield, Chichester, Epsom and Barnstead.

Fire Lt. Gary Mullen said the fire was reported about 5:10 a.m. under the landing in the area where trucks back up to unload trash. Fire crews knocked down the fire in about an hour and 10 minutes, preventing flames from reaching the garbage, he said.

“There was just a lot of smoke but we didn’t know what we had at first,” said Mullen. He called for a third alarm when first arriving at the site, fearing flames would spread to the trash.

The heat and fire warped the metal platform but, he said, the facility remains open.

Investigators have not determined what caused the fire.