A huge plume of black smoke from a burning scrap metal yard in north Hamilton today was not toxic, according to the fire department.

Firefighters rushed to American Iron and Metal at Parkdale and Burlington street in the early afternoon.

“This is a metal recycling company, where people come drop off household goods. Once that scrap metal is dropped off, the company here strips away the plastics and wiring and put it into the piles you see behind me.”

Workers at AIM Recycling were moving metal in the piles when smoke and a smouldering fire was exposed.

Deputy Fire Chief John Verbeek says combustible materials are still on some of the recycled household appliances.

“When we arrived on scene there was a large pile of scrap metal burning. If you think of a stove, it will sometimes have residual grease in it. It was material like that that was burning in this pile.”

It was several hours before the smoke subsided, Verbeek says the Ministry of Environment tested the air quality around the recycling plant during the fire and investigators concluded there was no danger to people breathing nearby.

Still, firefighters continued to battle.

“It’s very difficult for firefighters because you need to get to the seat of the fire. In this case we have a pile of metal that is 20 feet high and 20 feet deep that is actually burning. So the only way to get to it is for those four large cranes to pick apart the pile.”

No one was injured, everyone evacuated the facility safely and there really is no estimate for any damages.

The scrap metal is still just as valuable even after the fire.