Wednesday, a big fire broke out at Midwest Recyclers on the west side of Davenport. Smoke could be seen from Geneseo.
Chief Craig Black of the Davenport Fire Department’s District One says that the call came in around 12:15 p.m. Midwest Recyclers is in Davenport at 530 S. Howell St., close to Nestle Purina.
Black said that outside of a house, a pile of junk cars had caught fire. Responders were worried that the fire might move to a building nearby, but Black said that they were able to keep it out of reach. We still don’t know what started the fire.
“Other than that, it was just a large pile of cars that were set for scrapping,” he said. “Right now, we don’t know why it caught fire. Our workers were able to get back to the area where the two employees were trapped and free them. They were safely trapped outside of the pile and were protected with hand lines.
Black said that there were about 10 to 12 workers at the recycling centre when the fire started. Four DFD rigs and sixteen firemen worked together to put out the fire. For just under two hours, firefighters worked to put out the fire.
A lot of things in scrap yards and other places where things are thrown away can catch fire, Black said. Tanks, fuel, and torches used to break up the scrap are just a few examples.
“I wouldn’t say it’s every day by any means but it’s not abnormal as well,” he added.