Crews Extinguish Fire At Waterloo Scrap Yard

A Waterloo scrap yard fire sent a cloud of thick, black smoke billowing into the air that could be seen from miles away on Wednesday (Jan. 24, 2018).

Firefighters were called out to battle the blaze at Alter Metal Recycling, 1500 W. Airline Hwy., around 9:45 AM. They spent about three hours at the scene.

According to Battalion Chief Ben Petersen of Waterloo Fire Rescue, some maintenance work was being done on the scrapper in the back of the recycling yard when the blaze broke out. He said a large pile of metal debris – estimated to be about 200-feet-by-200-feet and 50-feet high – caught fire.

Crews contained the blaze to the company's recycling yard.

Eight fire units and 20 firefighters were at the scene at the height the blaze, Petersen said. All of them were gone from the business by 1 PM.

No injuries were reported with the fire. Petersen said there was no dollar loss to the property.