It took 50 firefighters hours to get control of an early morning fire at a scrap metal yard in Phoenix, Arizona.
There were no reported injuries from the fire, according to a report on azfamily.com (http://bit.ly/18PN0jh). About 20 employees of the metal recycling plant were on site when the fire started, but they were safely evacuated.
Flames were shooting about 30 feet into the air when firefighters arrived on the scene. Crews managed to contain the flames to a large pile of scrap metal, but there were other materials, including insulation, mixed in with the metal the fueled the flames.
Firefighters’ biggest concern was smoke from the fire. Officials on the scene told her that there is no danger to people in the area despite the strong odors.
For more details on this story, go to http://bit.ly/18PN0jh.
The smoke from this fire had obviously detectable industrial odors to it, despite being deemed not a threat, but the toxicity of smoke is a concern to all responders, regardless of the type of emergency scene. For more on smoke-related concerns, consider Toxicology of Smoke Inhalation, Cyanide: Fire Smoke’s Other “Toxic Twin”, and THE BREATH FROM HELL .
