Crews battled a fire at the Milford Auto Recycling Co. in Milford for hours Tuesday.
The business is located on South Washington Street. The fire started in the afternoon and sent thick black smoke into the air.
“The first arriving units encountered heavy fire in the scrap yard area. There were multiple motor vehicles stacked on top of one another which is normal operating procedure here, and one of them caught fire which spread through multiple vehicles,” said Battalion Chief Anthony Fabrizi of the Milford Fire Department.
Multiple crews responded to contain the blaze, and nearby employees scrambled to the toxic smoke as tires and flammable liquids went up.
Metro-North slowed down train traffic in the area as a precaution
“They did a slowdown at 300 feet in each direction of the area which was fine - our personnel were not going anywhere near the track to everyone maintained safety in that respect,” Fabrizi explained.
The setup of the junkyard and the humidity made the fire difficult to fight. Crews had to rotate due to the weather and to undergo decontamination at they continued the work.
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Despite these challenges, firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to actual buildings, and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time. There is no word on when the yard will be able to reopen.
