200 vehicles catch fire at New Haven auto salvage yard | Police/Fire
The New Haven-Adams Township Fire Department and three other departments worked two hours to bring a fire at an auto salvage company in New Haven under control.
The fire was reported about 9:40 a.m. Friday at Stein Auto Salvage, New Haven-Adams Township Fire Chief Joshua Hale said. At the yard at 6405 Parrot Road, flames reached 50 feet high. The business is in an unincorporated area in Adams Township.
About 200 cars in the area were billowing huge clouds of dark smoke and fumes, but the air quality was monitored and deemed safe for nearby residential areas, Hale said. No injuries were reported.
“There was no major wind. A lot of smoke was dissipating up into the air,” Hale said.
The fire is the second one at Stein Auto Salvage this year, although the first one was smaller. Hale blamed the fire on a malfunction in the salvage process, but is waiting for the investigation to be completed before he can identify the cause.
He said the business will “take cars, crush them and transport them.” He did not have a financial estimate for the loss, and the business could not be reached for comment.
Hale believed the business could reopen in two to three days.
Fire response included two ladder trucks, one from New Haven and the other from the Fort Wayne Fire Department. Other responding agencies included Southwest Fire District and the Woodburn Fire Department, Hale said.
He estimated 50 firefighters battled the blaze.
