STERLING, Ill. — A large fire erupted at the Cimco Recycling location in Sterling Monday morning, leading to a large response from area fire departments.
The Sterling Fire Department was notified of the fire around 7:45 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11. Fire officials said that when they got to the scene, two scrap piles had caught on fire.
15 local fire agencies responded to the blaze, which was fully extinguished around 5 p.m. No one was injured in the incident.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency was contacted due to the smoke plume from the fire; that agency will provide updates on air quality if needed.
The facility also had a fire in June, when a pile of crushed and shredded metals caught fire.
Addition Nov. 11, 10 p.m.: David Northcutt, deputy chief of the Sterling Fire Department, said the recycling plant needs help fighting its fires two to three times a year. Most times, it ties up local departments for most of the day.
"I mean it’s in our area all the time, so it’s not something that is unusual for us to deal with," Northcutt said.
He said he'd like the plant to take measures to reduce its fire risk.
"We would like to see them have some different operations so it didn’t happen so often," Northcutt said. "Understanding what they do, things like this are gonna happen, but we’ve talked with their managers and we’d like to see something different."
Northcutt said other departments helped cover incidents in Sterling throughout the day. In total, they used about 2 million gallons of water to fight the fire.
If you're experiencing irritation or adverse affects from the smoke, contact the Sterling Fire Department.