Accident blamed for Smethwick scrapyard fire
A huge blaze which took hold at a scrapyard in the Black Country was caused as a a result of an accident.
Crews spent 12 hours at the scene of the fire at Sims Metal Management in Smethwick yesterday, at one point using 20,000 litres of water an hour from the nearby canal to douse the flames.
It is believed the cause of the fire, which started in 500 tons of scrap metal and wrecked cars at around 9.40am yesterday was caused by an electrical fault in one of the cars.
The fire sent a large plume of black smoke visible from miles around.
Companies on the same estate as the fire at the company on Rabone Lane suffered a loss in trade as a result of the blaze, after the road was closed until around 9.30pm to all traffic. Tim Westwood, commercial manager at Ravenace Metals near to the fire, said they had metals that needed to be delivered that couldn't, and incoming orders that were stuck elsewhere.
He said: "Most of what we do is same or next day collection and deliveries so we have a string of people that are usually here. Usually we have 30 to 40 customers visiting us, and seven or eight vans that go out from here about 30 or 40 times a day. We will have lost orders and customers."
The fire is the sixth at scrapyards in the Black Country within the past two weeks, with police investigating whether the previous five are connected arson attacks.
