Southwest Philly junkyard fire is under control

The Philadelphia Fire Department placed a two-alarm blaze at a junkyard at 61st Street and Passyunk Avenue under control after just over an hour of firefighting Friday.

The fire broke out at the Southwest Philadelphia junkyard late Friday morning. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene about 10:47 a.m., and arrived within three minutes, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said.

Several cars appeared to be part of the blaze, and residents nearby reported seeing plumes of black smoke coming from the area. Thiel was not able to definitively quantify the size of the blaze, but said it measured about “20 cars by 20 cars by 10 cars.”

The fire was elevated to a two-alarm incident just after 11 a.m., prompting a response from about 50 vehicles and other firefighting apparatuses, as well as more than 75 firefighters, Thiel said. Before crews arrived, workers at the junkyard used heavy equipment to create firebreaks to help contain the blaze.

“The salvage yard crew really did help us out before we got here,” Thiel said.

Crews placed the fire under control at about 12:15 p.m. The cause of the blaze will remain undetermined until fire marshals are able to process the scene.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health said it had dispatched inspectors to the area to collect air samples and assess air quality near the blaze. Those samples were sent to the Air Management Services Laboratory late Friday afternoon, and definitive results were expected by Saturday. Mobile monitoring did not identify any airborne toxic compounds “at levels that would harm human health” on Friday, the health department said.

The department advised that area residents who are normally impacted by poor air quality should avoid going outside, close their windows, and consider wearing a mask if they encounter difficulty breathing. Groups that may be affected by poor air quality could include children, elderly individuals, pregnant people, and those with respiratory or heart conditions.

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents the district where the junkyard is located, encouraged residents on Twitter to “keep your windows closed and avoid the area.” Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, who represents the surrounding 2nd District, advised travelers to “be aware of traffic tie-ups in the area.”

The city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections was slated to reinspect the junkyard on June 2 after having found three violations during an earlier inspection. It will be inspected once the scene is released by the fire department, L&I spokesperson Shemeka Moore said.

In July, there was another junkyard fire in the area that prompted similar warnings. Records did not indicate the junkyard that experienced Friday’s fire was the same one that burned last year, Moore said.