The blaze occurred at Sims Metal, located at 699 Seaport Blvd. The initial call about the fire came in around 2:59 p.m., according to the Redwood City Fire Department.A battalion chief told KTVU that the source of the fire was a pile of cars that had burst into flames. These cars were brought to the facility the same day for recycling.The fire emitted thick black smoke, which drifted into neighboring cities like Sunnyvale.
Aerial footage from the scene showed heavy smoke billowing in the air as firefighters used ladder trucks to apply water to the blaze. Excavators and bulldozers were seen moving the metal debris in an attempt to calm the fire."I kind of smelled like burning metal and burning rubber," said Manuel Michel, who works next door. He said it wasn't the first time he had seen a fire at the scrap metal facility."You hear booms once in a while," he said.