VIDEO/PHOTOS: A large fire that overcame a junkyard Tuesday afternoon in Southwest Philadelphia continued to smolder hours after firefighters gained control of the inferno that sent thick black smoke billowing across the city.
Fire crews from multiple departments responded to the construction waste recycling facility on the 3700 block of South 61st Street just before 4 p.m. Captain Derek Bowmer told reporters that the fire started in a heap of trash and quickly spread.
"Wood, tires, things like that, when they break down houses. It looks like that’s what’s in the piles," said Captain Derek Bowmer of the Philadelphia Fire Department.
Nearly 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, including marine units that pumped water from the Schuylkill River to douse the flames.