More than 200 firefighters respond to 5-alarm fire at metro-east recycling facility
A fire in a Madison industrial complex was reported at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Within a half hour, billows of black smoke could be seen from miles around the site on both sides of the Mississippi River. By noon, heavy flames remained visible and approximately 200 first responders from multiple had responded to the scene on Fox Industrial Drive.
The entire building, with railroad engines sitting nearby on the adjacent tracks, was consumed, with tall flames projecting above the roof line. Multiple small explosions could be heard within the burning structure.
The building is one of five on the 40-acre Interco campus. According to its website, Interco recycles nonferrous metals, computers and technology and batteries for electrical vehicles. A company representative could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Quoting Madison Mayor John Hamm III, KSDK Channel 5 reported that at least one employee had been injured and transported to a hospital. The extent of those injuries wasn’t immediately known.
A fire at the same complex in the early morning hours of March 12, 2020, forced the evacuation of a nearby neighborhood. The village issued Code Red text and phone alerts Wednesday, instructing the residents to shelter in place.
Granite City also recommended residents of some neighborhoods stay home.
“The EPA has advised that anyone who resides from 17th Street in Granite City south towards Madison to shelter in place until the hazards of this fire can be fully understood and mitigated,” an alert from the city stated. “Please stay within your residences, places of employment, etc if those places are within 17th Street south towards Madison (1400, 1500, 1600 blocks of your respective streets).”
Kim Biggs, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said the agency has teams at the fire and they are trying to determine what is burning. The U.S. EPA will be asked to obtain services from a company that provides on-site air monitoring, Biggs said.
Firefighters from Mitchell, Pontoon Beach, Venice and Madison were at the scene on Fox Industrial Drive. Crews from St. Louis, Ferguson and Hazelwood in Missouri also were present.
This story was originally published August 10, 2022 at 11:37 AM.