Local Fire Departments Douse Friday Afternoon Fire

 

Three local fire departments responded to a fire at Southeast Metals and Recycling on Hwy. 123 in Toccoa this afternoon.

Cory Bennett, Assistant Fire Chief of the Carnes Creek Fire Department told WNEG about the fire. “We got the call around 2 P.M. The Carnes Creek Fire Department, Shiloh Fire Department, and the City of Toccoa. The City of Toccoa set up their aerial truck. We had a large debris pile on fire made up of ground up car seats and foam. Once we got it under control, we brought in a tractor to sift through it and wet it down.”

Bennett said it took nearly an hour to get it under control mainly due to the pile of debris being piled so high that it is difficult to get to the bottom of the pile where it is burning.

Due to the heavy amount of metal on the property Bennett said the departments tried to get ahead of it as quickly as possible. “This particular material was not metal. There was some plastic in it that caused the big black smoke when we came up on the scene. Once we got water on it the smoke dissipated and we went through it and put the hot spots out.”

WNEG asked Bennett if they knew the cause of the fire. “We don’t yet. We have not spoken with the owners yet. We have had two or three fires here already. We are not sure what is causing it. We are going to get with the owners and see what they can put in place to alleviate it.”

Southeast Metals is a Waste Management Company that was established in 2015.