1,750 Tons of Scrap Scorched in French Recycling Plant Fire

Fire swept through 700 junk cars waiting to be dismantled at a metal recycling plant Wednesday evening in Montoir-de-Bretagne, France, local media report.

At about 8:30 p.m. flames activated the automatic fire alarm at Guy Dauphin Environment metal recycling plant. Firefighters arrived on the scene within 10 minutes of the initial call, a spokesman for GDE told the press.

The wrecks, scheduled to be crushed Thursday morning, were stacked more than 15 meters high over a 2,500 square meter area, France Télévisions reports. More than 100 firefighters and at least 20 emergency vehicles were dispatched to the scene during the fire.

Firefighters contained the blaze within three hours but maintained a fire watch until morning to the fire from rekindling.

GDE estimates that 750 tons of vehicles waiting to become scrap, together with 1,000 tons of processed scrap metal, burned in the fire. However, no permanent recycling facilities were damaged.