A fire at a San Francisco recycling warehouse was extinguished after burning for more than nine hours overnight, an acting fire captain said today.
The two-alarm fire was reported by a security guard at the building at 8:33 p.m. Monday at the Recology recycling warehouse at 401 Tunnel Ave. It was put out around 6 a.m., San Francisco acting fire Capt. Jeff Covitz said.
The fire stared in one building and spread to another connected facility, he said.
“Because it’s a trash collection facility, there’s just a lot of fuel,” Covitz said.
In a statement from Recology issued today, officials said the fire took place inside the Public Disposal and Recycling Area, which is a metal warehouse.
The material that caught fire was construction and demolition debris dropped off by residents and small contractors and included wood, metal, concrete, cardboard and other “inert” materials.
Items dropped off at the disposal area are inspected to make sure they do not include toxic materials, such as asbestos and fluorescent lamps, according to Recology.
The fire produced a thick white-gray smoke and a lot of steam from the sprinkler system, Recology officials said.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury tackling the blaze, Covitz said.
Covitz said the fire caused $75,000 in property damage and $2,000 of damage to items in the buildings.
The recycling center reopened for business this morning and there will be no service disruption to customers because of the blaze, Recology officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
