South Fulton recycling facility fire contained, officials say

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Crews continue to battle a large fire Monday at an electronics recycling facility in South Fulton one day after it began.

City officials said that the fire has been contained, but crews are still battling smoke from the incident, which occurred Sunday evening.

According to the City of South Fulton, HAZMAT experts determined the smoke is not toxic, and the fire was not hazardous.

The fire was reported near 5550 Mallory Road. The metal building houses three businesses that recycle or store materials, including computer components, batteries, propane cylinders and other electronics, according to officials.

Officials said the building became too hot for firefighters to enter, forcing crews to fight the fire from outside.

No one was inside the building when the fire began, officials said.

Fire departments from Fairburn, Union City, Clayton County, College Park and Chattahoochee Hills responded after multiple people driving in the area reported seeing the smoke.

The smoke drew the attention of nearby drivers, including J. Amezqua, who stopped with his daughters to watch from across the road.

“Just the sheer size of the smoke is a lot more than a car fire or anything normal, so [we] just decided, let’s go check it out,” Amezqua said.

Officials said firefighters were using a defensive strategy and were not entering the building because of conditions inside.

Fire officials said they did not believe the level of toxicity required an evacuation or posed an immediate community-wide hazard. However, they urged people to avoid breathing the smoke.

People in the path of the smoke should stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed until it clears, officials said. Those with asthma or other respiratory conditions should take additional precautions.

South Fulton Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Marshal Gregory Chambers said investigators will examine the cause once it is safe to enter the building.

“There was no one there. We need to find out what initially started this fire,” Chambers said Sunday. “That’s what we’ll be looking at over the next few days, actually, because if it’s not cool enough to go in there this evening, we’ll probably have to try to get in there in the morning.”

Chambers said firefighters will remain on scene until the fire is under control.

“We’re going to make every effort to keep that fire where it is,” he said. “To some extent, it’s going to burn itself out, and then to some extent, we will put water on it. But either way, we’ll be here until this situation is brought to a conclusion.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Smoke was visible for miles.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.