Cape business scrap yard catches fire; 40 firefighters respond

Some 40 firefighters from the city of Cape Girardeau and surrounding departments battled a blaze Thursday at Cape Metal Recycling that sent black smoke rising into the sky.

No one was injured in the fire, Cape Girardeau fire chief Rick Ennis said.

The city’s fire department responded to the scene at 12:06 p.m. after a fire was reported in the business’s scrap yard on Highway 74 west of Interstate 55.

Ennis said the initial concern was the safety of a crane operator in the scrap yard. The operator was able to get to safety and was not injured, the fire chief said.

Fire hoses were connected together to reach a fire hydrant east of Interstate 55.

Cape Girardeau County area fire departments respond to a fire Thursday at Cape Metal Recycling Thursday.Andrew J. Whitaker

“It takes a while to lay that much hose,” Ennis said at the scene.

Water-tanker trucks also were brought in from area fire departments to help fight the blaze.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the fire with four engine trucks and a ladder truck. Gordonville’s volunteer department also brought engine trucks to the scene, Ennis said.

Cape Metal Recycling is in Cape Girardeau County, just west of the Cape Girardeau city limits.

Cape Girardeau police blocked off the Dutchtown exits on Interstate 55 and closed Highway 74 to traffic for a time to keep motorists away from the scene and the fire hoses that were stretched along Highway 74.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department hoses down a fire Thursday at Cape Metal Recycling.Andrew J. Whitaker

More than 59,000 gallons of water were sprayed on the fire in an hour and a half, Ennis said.

Ennis estimated firefighters began spraying water on the fire at 12:20 p.m. The fire was under control within about an hour, the fire chief said.

Shortly before 2 p.m., firefighters still were extinguishing hot spots.

Once the fire was “knocked down,” the crane operator was able to get back in the cab and pull apart some of the scrap to make it easier for water to be directed on the fire, Ennis said.

He said the scrap yard was full of not only metal, but also combustible items such as rubber and plastic.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, Ennis said.

Alicia Craven, officer manager for the metal-recycling firm, said, “All of the machines are OK. All of our people are OK.”

She said the fire caused no substantial damage.

“We are just recycling the metal anyway,” she added.

Craven praised the work of the area fire departments.

“They did a great job,” she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

3317 Highway 74, Cape Girardeau, Mo.