Investigators seeking cause of big fire at south Durham auto recycling center
The Durham Fire Department battled a blaze at Foss Recycling on Thursday that sent smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles.
Foss Recycling, at 1915 Riddle Road in southern Durham, is a scrap metal recycling center. At least 10 cars were on fire, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s news gathering partner.
As of Friday morning, investigators still don’t know what caused the fire, according to a department news release.
There were no injuries, the department reported.
Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Iannuzzi told WRAL that wind was complicating efforts to extinguish the fire.
“It’s driving that fire deeper into the pile,” he told WRAL. “We’re using some heavy equipment to try and pull it apart. We have to pull the pile apart to get to the fire. We’ve never had a pile this big, that I can recall.”
It took 64 firefighters and six hours to get the fire under control, the news release stated.
Fire units remained on the scene throughout the night, wetting hot spots and monitoring conditions.
Riddle Road between N.C. 55 and South Alston Avenue remained closed overnight.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 9:55 PM.