Calgary fire crews responded to a large fire at a scrapyard Thursday evening, noticing the smoke from the blaze as crews were leaving the station to tend to it.
At approximately 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, 911 calls started coming in regarding a fire at a Calgary metal recycling yard located at the 3400 block of Ogden Road S.E., the location of Calgary Metal Recycling Inc.
Crews say they saw heavy black smoke when leaving the station which led them to call for additional resources.
Upon arrival, crews saw heavy black smoke and flames coming from a pile of crushed vehicles. The fire was upgraded to a two-alarm to allow for more resources, according to a news release.
Using aerial ladders with elevated water streams, as well as ground-based nozzles, fire crews were able to extinguish enough of the fire to pull apart the large pile of vehicles which would allow them to completely extinguish the fire. Site staff worked with the fire department to operate heavy machinery to pull apart the vehicles.
There are no reported injuries.
At the fire’s peak, 19 fire apparatus’ were used and 44 fire personnel were on scene.
Smoke was visible from many parts of the city, including Stampede grounds. Officials monitored the air quality around the fire scene and throughout the city to ensure there were no hazards to the public.
The fire was under control within two hours, and completely extinguished within three.