No Toxic Danger Posed by Scrap Metal Fire

A fire at a scrap metal company that ignited volatile titanium and magnesium was extinguished before it caused any toxic danger in the area, fire officials said Wednesday.

The blaze at Monico Alloys, located in the 2300 block of East 15th Street, flared up Tuesday after sparks from a welding torch kindled a nearby pile of metal shavings, officials said.

More than 100 firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in about two hours. There were no reported injuries, and an estimate of property damage was not available Wednesday.

Firefighters wore protective gear and used breathing apparatus and oxygen tanks to guard against fumes released by the burning metals, fire department officials said.

The fire department also notified a host of local and state agencies that monitor environmental issues about the metal-burning fire, said city Fire Department Spokesman Brian Humphrey.

“There were no indications that the byproducts of this combustion posed any inordinate danger to healthy persons,” Humphrey said. “The plume seemed to have traveled vertically, and we’ve not received any reports of injury associated with this fire.”

A representative from the South Coast Air Quality Management District went to the scene of the blaze, but the fire department did not request air monitoring or sampling because the fire was put out quickly, a spokesman for the agency said.