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A fire on the east side of Sims Metal in Redwood City on May 22 began while employees at the recycling facility were loading a shredder with burning pieces of metal, according to Redwood City Fire Battalion Chief Chuck Lax.
Firefighters arrived on the scene at Sims Metal, located at 699 Seaport Boulevard, around 3 p.m. with five fire engines and one fire ladder, Lax said. By 5:30 p.m., fire crews had contained the fire, he said.
Firefighters and Sims Metal employees were not injured during Wednesday’s fire, Lax said.
Lax said it’s unclear exactly how the fire started, as placing burning scrap metal into the shredder is not unusual or uncommon.
On Wednesday evening, San Mateo County said that Redwood City fire crews were on the scene at Sims Metal, “battling a fire from a mixed metals pile” at the metal recycling facility near the Port of Redwood City.
San Mateo County health officials issued a statement Wednesday advising that while no shelter in place was active, “those who are sensitive to smoke should stay indoors, close windows and doors, and ensure that air conditioners and fans are not pulling in air from outdoors.”
Officials stated that the fire plume was headed south along the Bayside coast of San Mateo County, over the Dumbarton Bridge and into Santa Clara County.
The Mountain View Fire Department posted to X regarding Wednesday’s Sims Metal fire: “Thick, dark smoke is in the air accompanied by the smell of burning plastic.” They also asked that the public do not call 9-1-1 unless they see an active fire.
Lax said the odor came from the scrap metal, which is made up of various metals, including cars and water heaters.
Sims Metal owns over 200 facilities that process scrap metal purchased from other businesses and recyclers, according to its website.
Sims Metal’s Redwood City recycling facility has been the site of multiple fires. A large blaze that broke out at the metal recycling plant in 2021 triggered several explosions, damaged multiple vehicles and left one worker injured.
The incident prompted the State of California to issue an order to the recycling center asking it to investigate the degree to which its operations may have caused pollution in the area from its facility and to clean it up.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has conducted multiple inspections of the recycling facility and had determined that “releases of hazardous waste and hazardous waste constituents have occurred.
Lax said that the staff at Sims Metal are committed to preventing fires.
“They will be having follow-up meetings with them like we do anytime we have an incident there, Lax said. “They want to work with the city to continue to be able to conduct business and not have an impact on the community.”