PROVIDENCE, R,I. (WLNE) — Emergency crews spent nearly 9 hours dealing with a fire at a scrap yard in Providence.
Calls first came in around 11:30 Wednesday night for a massive fire at the scrap yard on Allens Avenue.
Video of the fire at its peak was visible from across the Providence River, which sent smoke and a metallic smell across South Providence for most of the morning.
The fire was knocked down in a few hours, with the longer response coming as they waited for crews to move the junk out of the way and hit hotspots under the pile.
“Because you know we don’t always have access to this kind of heavy machinery you’ll see working behind us. If we do then it’s much quicker, but we didn’t have people on site so it took a while to get that. So we just kind of kept it down, knocked most of it down, but it took us a while to get the right equipment we needed,” said Gregory McGee, Providence Fire Battalion Chief.
McGee said they had the Department of Environmental Management out on scene to see if there were any hazardous materials in the pile, with McGee saying the scene was “good to go.”
The company, Rhode Island Recycled Metals, has had several issues with the city in the past, with a Providence city councilor sending out a statement on the fire reading in part:
“Fortunately, no one was hurt, but enough is enough. Rhode Island Recycled Metals is a dangerous business that has repeatedly jeopardized our environment, our firefighter’s safety, and our resident’s health.”
ABC6 reached out to RI Recycled Metals for comment and have not received any response.
Crews remained on scene until around 8 a.m.
No injuries were reported during the fire, and the exact cause is still under investigation.