It’s been six months since a massive blaze at MetalX in Delta, Ohio occurred and firefighters once again returned this past Monday to do battle.
“Somehow something shorted out and caught fire,” stated Delta fire chief Scott Smith. “It’s not uncommon in a facility like this.”
Firefighters from eight departments responded Monday to the scrap metal facility and once on scene, began battling flames that sent black smoke flying up to 50′ in the air.
“Once the fire gets a foothold, it’s very hard to put out,” Smith observed.
Compared to last September’s fire, this one was slightly easier to contain. Chief Smith said they worked with MetalX to create a new way to stack the scrapped metal. The facility separated the piles of metal so that one fire didn’t spread to another pile before crews could contain it.
It’s just one method that helped crews get the fire under control in a reasonable amount of time.
Neighbors expressed concerned by the frequency of the fires. Heavy smoke and soot from both fires have nearby residents worried about the potential health issues. Despite these worries, the Chief said there was no immediate threat to those in the area. The Ohio EPA was on-site collecting air samples and there was no real hazardous material in the smoke.