Here’s why you saw a plume of black smoke coming from the Port of Tacoma
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A pile of debris caught fire at a metal recycling plant in Tacoma Thursday evening, sending a large plume of black smoke into the sky.
Firefighters were called about 7:30 p.m. to Schnitzer Steel, 1902 Marine View Dr., and found the burning debris pile.
“The challenge with these types of fires is the fire is usually at the bottom of pile and it’s hard to get into the seat of the fire, or the area of origin,” said Joe Meinecke, spokesman for the Fire Department. “That’s the operational challenge and why the duration is so long.”
The fire was put out about 12:30 a.m., though crews stayed on scene until 2 a.m. putting out hot spots.
Twenty-eight firefighters responded, which is standard for a commercial fire.
Crews worked with personnel at the plant to use heavy machinery to pull debris out of the pile and douse the flames at the bottom.
People as far away as Bainbridge Island said they could see the smoke, which reached Fife Heights.
The department told residents nearby to shut doors and windows to limit the smoke exposure.
Nobody was injured in the blaze, which investigators say was caused by a car battery igniting combustibles in a scrap metal pile.
Schnitzer Steel has 46 metal recycling plants in the United States and Puerto Rico, three of which are in Washington.
There have been three fires at the Tacoma plant since last July, according to the Tacoma Fire Department. One was in December, one in June and one Thursday.
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
