Barrie firefighters tackled an early morning blaze at a metal recycling business on John Street on Tuesday and have remained on scene dousing hot spots.
Crews received the call just before 4 a.m. on Nov. 12 for the fire at Triple M Metal.
“When they arrived, smoke was seen and they upgraded the alarm, calling in more trucks,” Assistant Deputy Chief Eric MacFadden told BarrieToday.
Firefighters gained access through a fence at the business, as no one was there at the time, he said.
There were no injuries reported.
The blaze was localized to a smaller part of 220 John St., in an extension to the building, according to MacFadden.
“Crews took a defensive mode for fire attack, because there was a bit of a roof collapse where the fire was,” he added.
"We are not putting people in the building just because it wasn’t safe to enter," MacFadden said.
At its peak, Barrie Fire had five trucks on scene and that was later reduced to three, he added.
Fire crews remained on scene as of 9:30 a.m. dealing with hot spots and conducting a preliminary investigation.
“The fire is out. There could be some little spots that are smouldering," MacFadden said. "We are just trying to uncover all of those spots and do everything we can to ensure everything is completely out, ventilate the smoke and make sure it’s safe for us to turn the building back over (to its owner).”
When crews first arrive at a fire scene, MacFadden said they conduct a check around the entire building to see what's happening and what conditions they encounter before making a decision on how to best fight each blaze.
“We don’t put people inside if it’s not safe … we just find other means to make some openings and use our elevated water streams to be able to put water on and extinguished the fire," he said.
MacFadden said there were no concerns about toxic smoke, despite the location.
The blaze is under investigation by Barrie Fire and Emergency Service personnel. The cause remains unknown.
