NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews have extinguished a large fire at a recycling plant in Northwest Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene along the 3700 block of N. River Dr, shortly after midnight.
Upon arrival, firefighters saw heavy flames and smoke billowing from the scrap metal processing and recycling facility.
As a result, surrounding streets near Casino Miami were temporarily blocked off, and the Metrorail shut down. All roadways have since been reopened, and the Metrorail’s service has been restored.
Update: smoke has cleared and Metrorail service to the airport has resumed. https://t.co/snyQhbvFhY
— Miami-Dade Transit (@IRideMDT) October 17, 2018
Firefighters attacked the blaze from all angles of the building. “When we arrived, we had heavy smoke, heavy fire,” said MDFR Division Chief Paul Estopinan. “This quickly grew into a second alarm fire with 27 units on the scene.”
According to officials, the fire has since been contained.
“At this time, we do have the fire pretty much contained, but it’s deep seeded in some large piles of scrap,” said MDFR Battalion Chief Danny Cardeso. “These fires are long, drawn out and stubborn – so I anticipate we will still be here for several hours.”
Earlier that morning, Estopinan said, “As you can imagine, it’s a recycling plant. There’s a lot of metal. We have to tear it down with large machinery, and it’s going to take a while. We’re waiting for daylight to start tearing it down and getting to the seed of the fire.”
Due to the size of the fire, MDFR had to contact hotels in the area to warn them about heavy smoke lingering in the area.
“I would definitely put the message out that you want to stay indoors,” said Estopinan, “at least the residents in the occupancies downwind from here.”
Officials said this is not the plant’s first fire. The building had another blaze just three months back.
“The biggest challenge now is just working with the personnel from the recycling plant,” Cardeso said, “making sure no one gets hurt to move the pile and wet down everything that’s still burning underneath.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown at this time. However, the recycling plant is back up and running.
No injuries were reported.
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