A 3-alarm junkyard fire broke out in Hunting Park: ‘The only thing we saw was smoke’

Jonathan Soto was working Wednesday afternoon in his North Philadelphia car wash when he began to smell and see plumes of black acrid smoke spread through his Hunting Park neighborhood.

“The only thing we saw was smoke,” said the 29-year-old father of three, whose house sits above the car wash and blocks from the junkyard at 532 W. Annsbury St., where a fire broke out shortly before 1 p.m.

“Then something kept on exploding, everybody was frozen.”

Fire officials said that the fire was in a junkyard that was mostly filled with cars and that the pops Soto heard were likely air-filled tires bursting.

More than 120 Philadelphia Fire Department personnel would respond to the three-alarm blaze that grew over the course of an hour. They were able to extinguish lingering hot spots by 3:10 p.m.

According to city records, Railroad Recovery Inc. owns 532 W. Annsbury. The business’ website describes itself as Mike’s Auto, which could not be reached for comment, and contact information for Railroad Recovery wasn’t available.

Fire officials said they were initially concerned about a 300-gallon tank of gasoline near the origin point of the fire.

“The tank wasn’t full at all,” said Assistant Fire Chief Charles Walker. “But we just stayed on top of that to make sure that it wouldn’t become a problem.”

Walker said three schools were impacted by smoke from the blaze, adding that windy conditions helped dissipate the heavy plumes.

Soto described the junkyard as a nuisance, often leaving cars on the sidewalk and attracting large rodents, including rats.

Residents have long complained about the junkyard in their neighborhood.

» READ MORE: Junkyard flap raises stink in Hunting Park

This year, the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections launched a scrapyard inspection program.

Shemeka Moore, a spokesperson for the department, said inspections of scrapyards in the city’s database started mid-March and are slated to be completed by the first week of May.

A week ago, a program inspector assessing 4500 N. Fairhill St. found that the site had extended its junkyard operation to 532 W. Annsbury St. The Annsbury junkyard was issued two zoning violations and 12 fire code violations, while the Fairhill Street scrapyard received one zoning violation and 23 fire code violations.

Moore said notices of violations were sent to the owners on record for each parcel Tuesday.

Attempts to reach the listed owner of 4500 N. Fairhill were unsuccessful.

As the smoke cleared late afternoon, Soto worried what inhaling it meant for his three young children, whose school is near the junkyard.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health sent out inspectors to collect samples to assess the air quality. Walker said inspectors found no harmful contaminants in the air.

The Philadelphia Fire Department said one civilian was transported to a local hospital for minor smoke inhalation but reported no other injuries.

Staff writer Ryan Briggs contributed to this article.