Fort Worth Fire Department Chief Jim Davis says there have been three fires at the site of last week's massive scrap yard fire in the previous six years, but all appear accidental.
Davis shared the information during an update to city council members at their work session on Tuesday after the blaze at Texas Industrial Scrap Metal raged for hours last Friday at the facility in the 3800 block of North Commerce Street.
“Were there any other factors that you observed that might’ve been in violation of our city code?” asked City Council Member Carlos Flores.
Davis responded that he pulled reports and talked to crews on-scene but had not found any violations.
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“There’s nothing that’s been reported to me that the facility has not been cooperative. These appear to be accidental fires that appear to be occurring from metal on metal, causing some type of spark, igniting some type of oil or some type of contaminant, grease," said Davis.
A spokesperson for the fire department said they last inspected the site in 2020 and found no violations.
NBC 5 contacted Fort Worth's code department to ask when their last inspection was and if any violations were found. We are waiting to hear back.
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“Our fire prevention folks have been working with the code enforcement folks to make sure that that facility is inspected and protected," Davis said, adding that the company has cooperated.
The fire chief revealed that putting out the fire on Friday took 145 crew members more than 14 hours.
According to Davis, one firefighter suffered heat exhaustion but is back on the job, and the other was hurt after a mechanical issue.
“There was an engine fire on one of the fire apparatus that occurred during the course of it that had to be extinguished. It had no relationship to the proximity of the fire," said Davis.
A fire department spokesperson stated that firefighters are still recovering and that the city is investigating the malfunction that caused their injuries.
