A Memorial Day night fire at a Middletown Township scrap metal business is being investigated.
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The fire was reported just past 9:50 p.m. Monday by a nearby resident. The call came in as a brush fire in the area of Langhorne Scrap Metal on Big Oak Road.
Firefighters arrived within minutes, made access to the gated facility, and began efforts to fight the flames, which were spread among piles of scrap near the rear of the business, Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company Chief Frank Farry said.
Crews from the Langhorne-Middletown, Yardley-Makefield, and William Penn fire companies fought the flames. A ladder truck was used put down the flames in the scrap, Farry said.
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The operator of the facility brought in their crews to use heavy equipment as firefighters worked to put water the on the piles, Farry said.
Don Harris, Middletown Township’s fire marshal, said the cause remained under investigation as of Tuesday afternoon. He has determined the fire started near the back wall of the site.
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Firefighters were at the scene until nearly 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Farry said firefighters spent hours on Tuesday cleaning their hose lines that were coated in gunk from the scrap yard.
The scrap metal company that sits near wetlands and woods has faced complaints with state environmental officials in the past due to spills and has been cited by Middletown Township due to unpermitted burning. The facility has previously admitted to violating state regulations and failing to take “appropriate measures to prevent the release of a polluting substance.” There were two fires at the site in 2021.
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Despite the troubled past, the facility came under the ownership of a new operator in recent months, officials said.
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