An overnight fire at a scrap metal company in Waxahachie kept firefighters busy Tuesday morning.
An overnight fire at a scrap metal company in Waxahachie kept firefighters busy Tuesday morning.
The fire started around 1 a.m. at Oak Cliff Metals on the 500 block of Brown Industrial Road.
“From what we know it is contained to just one pile and it has not spread at all,” said Amy Hollywood, Waxahachie's director of communications and marketing.
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control very quickly. They one challenge they had battling the blaze was getting water since there were no fire hydrants nearby.
“They ran a five inch line from the water source and run it across the field ... Which they did successfully to fight the fire, but water is a challenge," said Hollywood.
This is not the first time Oak Cliff Metals has had a fire. A much larger fire happened on Aug. 25, 2013.
Hollywood said changes to how the business operates is credited for keeping Tuesday fire much smaller.
“After the fire last year, the fire department was very proactive and has remained proactive in making sure that there aren’t piles that are very large, and making sure things are compartmentalized out here, so if another incident were to happen, like this morning, that things are much more manageable,” she said.
Still people who live nearby think more needs to be done to protect their homes from danger.
“We got wide open space behind us straight to the metal plant, and my concern is fire,” said neighbor Cheryl Wilson, “For my animals, myself, my home.”
Crews with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) were at the fire to monitor air quality, but did not find any problems.
One firefighter suffered a minor ankle sprain while fighting the fire.
