SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A fire at Dickson Iron & Metal on Monday was caused by a piece of metal heated by a cutting torch falling into a scrap pile.
A Dickson employee told firefighters that he was using a cutting torch when a piece of metal he was cutting fell into the pile below, igniting it, according to the SVFD.
Dickson Iron & Metal is a recycling and scrap metal facility in Spokane Valley.
The Spokane Valley Fire Department said they responded to the fire at about 3:15 p.m. on Monday.
In total, seven SVFD units and three City of Spokane Fire Department units responded to the fire, according to the SVFD.
Responding firefighters estimated that the pile on fire was 50 feet by 150 feet in size, and the flames stayed contained to one pile. It took crews about four to five hours to put out the fire, SVFD said.
While the Washington State Department of Ecology was contacted due to water runoff from the fire as a precaution, the SVFD said the smoke from the flames doesn't present a danger to the area.
There were no injuries or loss of property caused by the fire, and the SVFD wants to remind people to have a fire watch and extinguisher present when cutting or welding metal.