2nd blaze in a month at metal-recycling plant on west side

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For the second time in less than a month, plumes of black smoke filled the sky during a fire at a metal-recycling plant on the city’s west side.

Firefighters say the Sunday fire at OmniSource Corp. recycling plant, 2205 S. Holt Road, started on a conveyor belt and traveled through the building. The fire could be seen by fans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the second day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

Crews from Wayne Township Fire Department were called out around 1:40 pm. and put out the fire in about 20 minutes.

No injuries were reported.

An April 30 fire at the metal-recycling plant led to a “shelter in place” for “all persons living in a 2 mile area south/southeast of the fire … due the large amount of smoke.” That fire was also believed to be accidental. High winds and low water pressure complicated firefighting efforts, taking firefighters 13 hours to put out.

On the night of Jan. 10, 2015, the scrap-metal shredder building had a large fire at the Omni Source facility. Extremely cold weather hindered firefighters at the blaze.