BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) – Investigators say a five-alarm fire at a salvage yard on the Green Bay/Bellevue border was caused when sparks from an electric drill ignited from leaking gasoline.
Authorities were called to Smitty’s Salvage Yard, 2325 Main Street, just after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The Green Bay Metro Fire Department says during removal of a vehicle gas tank, gas began spewing out of the plastic tank.
The fire began outside, and then quickly spread to two roofs covering tires and vehicle parts. It also spread to at least 80 vehicles.
“The first 20 minutes I was here it was just explosions going off,” said Michael Johnson, who saw the black smoke from Allouez. “I mean just boom, boom, boom.”
Bellevue police initially responded to the 911 call, but then quickly notified fire crews.
“We’re at the 5th alarm level,” said Green Bay Metro Fire Lt. Nick Craig. “That means we’ve got about 30 fire departments on scene as of right now.”
Craig says there were several challenges in battling the blaze, including the heat and the scene.
“It’s a very difficult place to fight a fire,” said Craig. “It’s tough to get to things and then the materials, there’s lots of plastics and lots of tires, which burns very quickly and very hot.”
Craig added that firefighters rotated more than usual, and they also had rural agencies in charge of bringing more water to help in the effort.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury, and officials say no civilians were hurt.
The estimated damage is $100,000.
