Firefighters Battle Blaze at Schnitzer Steel in North Portland

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  Firefighters battled a blaze at Schnitzer Steel in North Portland that generated lots of smoke. However, there are so far no reported injuries nor is the fire impacting any buildings, officials said.

The source of the fire was from an industrial metal shredder at the facility on North Lombard Street, according to Portland Fire and Rescue. 

Lt. Laurent Picard, a spokesperson with PF&R, confirmed to KOIN 6 News just before 5 p.m. that the fire was coming from a “large debris pile of shredded combustible mixed metals,” including items like shredded cars with petroleum products, foam and upholstery.

“This is an exterior debris pile with no structural involvement to the building, but due to the nature of the materials burning, the fire is producing a large volume of smoke,” Picard said.

The smoke was so prominent that many people were placing 911 calls to report it, she said.

The fire was put out around 5:15 p.m., officials said.

Courtesy: www.koin.com