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Nearly 200 cars catch fire at Detroit junkyard

Posted at 5:06 PM, Mar 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-04 17:34:40-05

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit firefighters were battling a large blaze at a junkyard in the 14000 block of Meyers in Detroit
on Thursday.

About 150 to 200 cars were estimated to be further damaged by the fire.

"We're making pretty good progress at this point," said acting senior fire chief Daniel Watson on Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters had to fight the blaze from a distance, Chief Watson said, considering how volatile the area is with most everything being flammable. Although car tanks are usually removed from junk cars, there are still other components that are easily flammable, he said.

Adding that the cars are often stacked up making them unstable, firefighters aren't able to rush in and put out the fire easily, which is why they are approaching the blaze from a distance.

It's unclear at this point how the fire started, however, it's speculated that maybe a battery exploded.

There were no injuries.

Just before 5 p.m., the acting senior chief said the fire was mostly under control. He considered the response to be a success.