Herten (dpa / lnw) - Scrap metal in a scrap yard in Herten caught fire on Wednesday morning for initially unknown reasons and caused a column of smoke over the city. The fire brigade quickly got the fire under control with 90 forces, and extinguishing work should last until noon, said fire brigade operations manager Roland Schulz.
The metals with plastic parts - for example from cars or discarded washing machines - were piled up in a heap about ten meters high at the scrap yard. That's why there were more embers inside. In the morning, employees pulled apart the scrap with excavators so that the fire brigade could extinguish the parts individually.
The smoke was clearly noticeable in Herten and Recklinghausen. The fire department asked residents early in the morning to keep windows and doors closed. However, measurements did not show any stress, said Schulz. The warning was therefore withdrawn after about two hours.
