Firefighters Quickly Douse Junkyard Blaze

Firefighters quickly doused a junkyard fire Monday that was likely sparked by a combination of high temperatures, piled-up scrap and drops of fuel still sitting in the chambers of discarded vehicle parts.

The Port Chester Fire Department responded at 12:04 p.m. to Miller's Scrap Iron and Metal Co. on Traverse Avenue.

Police bike Officer Tom Krempa was patrolling the nearby PetCo parking lot when he saw smoke rising from the direction of the junkyard and an open fire in the cargo compartment of a tractor trailer when he got closer, Capt. John Telesca said.

"Employees at the junkyard were trying to drag the debris and trying to battle it with 25-pound dry chemical extinguishers, to no avail," Telesca said.

By the time the employees began attacking the fire, the flames were too high and intense to get close enough to suppress them with the small extinguishers, Telesca said.

No one was injured and the fire is not considered suspicious. A hazardous materials team was called to the scene as a precaution, and fire investigators are assembling a report on the cause of the fire.

Check back for more details.

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