Firefighters battle blaze at scrap metal yard in Chesapeake

CHESAPEAKE

A fire at a scrap metal yard that kept firefighters busy for more than two hours this morning is now out, dispatcher said. 

The call for the fire at Sims Metal in the 4300 block of Buell St. off Interstate 464 was received by dispatchers shortly after 3 a.m., they said.

No injuries were reported, dispatchers said.

At 5 a.m., firefighters still were at the yard working on the fire and the acrid odor of smoke could be smelled in downtown Norfolk. By 5:25 a.m., the fire was out, dispatchers said.

The person who called 911 to report the fire said that some car seats were on fire near a large shredding machine, according to Capt. Steve Johnson, fire spokesman. 

The shredder, according to Johnson, takes old junk cars and separates the metal from the rest of the material, such as car seats.

The Fire Department has been called to fires at the site in the past for similar fires, according to Johnson.

A fire investigator went to the scene this morning to determine the cause, according to Johnson.