‘Spontaneous Combustion’ Blamed in Tampa Scrap Metal Fire

TAMPA, FL — A Friday night fire that sent a plume of black smoke into the air above Port Sutton Road has been attributed to spontaneous combustion by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials.

The fire at Trademark Metals Recycling’s Port Sutton facility broke out around 5 p.m. Dec. 2. The first crews to respond found about 20 tons of metal on fire, county officials said. The fire was upgraded to a two-alarm blaze shortly thereafter and took an estimated 11 hours to clear completely; nine of which were spent getting the blaze under control.

“Great care was taken to protect all exposures surrounding the facility including several very large diesel fuel tanks located next door to the recycling facility,” a Monday email from fire rescue said. “Firefighters used a mix of foam and water to put the fire out.”

Once the fire was under control, investigators began looking into the cause. The county says interviews from the scene and thermal imaging surveillance cameras pointed to spontaneous ignition.

Trademark employees told fire rescue investigators they were working in the pile when it began to smoke and catch fire. Employees on the scene called 911 within about four minutes of the fire’s start, the agency noted.

“The process of spontaneous combustion typically happens due to a buildup of heat within the pile. This is caused by the materials oxidizing, and the heat from that chemical reaction being trapped,” fire rescue explained. “Once the materials store enough heat they can catch on fire.”

No injuries were reported.

Photo and video courtesy of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue