PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Portland Fire & Rescue crews responded to a four-alarm fire at a metal recycling facility in Northwest Portland on Wednesday to put out a fire in a scrap pile.
Firefighters were called to Radius Recycling, which is affiliated with Schnitzer Steel, just after 1 p.m.
PF&R said the scrap pile contained smashed cars, appliances and other large metal objects. The material in the pile was scheduled to be put into a nearby industrial shredder.
Firefighters from all over the city responded to the blaze, which included crews from fireboats that pumped water from the Willamette River for use on the fire. Firefighters also used aerial ladders to spray water onto the burning scrap heap.
PF&R said employees at the facility helped firefighters by using equipment to reduce the size of the pile by moving loads of it elsewhere.
Crews from the Vancouver Fire Department also assisted Portland firefighters.
The fire was considered under control four hours after it was called in.
The water used to fight the fire was collected into an onsite system that will strain the water of particles and purify it, reducing concerns of the water going into nearby waterways.
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You can watch the progress of this fire incident on the KATU News YouTube channel.
As more information becomes available, this story will be updated.