The installation of a fire hydrant made the difference in battling a blaze at AmeriScrap on Old Stage Road Tuesday.
Firefighters from the Greeneville Fire Department and Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department responded to a debris pile fire around 11:30 AM. But unlike a similar fire in May, this fire was quickly contained with less water and far fewer resources. That’s thanks to the owners of AmeriScrap installing a hydrant after the May blaze. During that fire, tanker trucks from multiple fire departments had to shuttle water to the scene from multiple locations. That water was put in portable holding pools then pumped to fire trucks. For Tuesday’s fire, only one pumper from Greeneville was needed to push water to one truck from Tusculum that kept water on the fire.
Pumping 600 gallons per minute with a continuous flow, and having that water immediately available helped fire fighters get control of the blaze much quicker than earlier fires.
During the May fire, the Tusculum, Newmansville, and Limestone Volunteer Fire Departments, the Greeneville Fire Department, along with Camp Creek, Mosheim, Caney Branch, Town of Mosheim, and Debusk Volunteer Fire Departments, worked the scene. This time only Greeneville and Tusculum were needed.
While no cause of Tuesday’s fire was immediately know, AmeriScrap President Jeff Collins said that a lithium battery was suspected of causing the May fire. Those batteries are not supposed to be thrown in regular trash, as when they become damaged they can generate tremendous heat and start fires. It is a growing problem nationwide with the increased use of devices that use the rechargeable batteries.
Firefighters had Tuesday’s fire largely contained within an hour, but remained on the scene through the afternoon.
