There was a large fire at Cimco Recycling at their Galt Road location Monday morning.. The Sterling Fire Department, Rock Falls Fire Department and CGH
EMS received a dispatch for the incident approximately 7:40am.. Upon arrival, there were two scrap piles with fire involvement, with building nearby.
Both aerials from Sterling and Rock Falls were set up for aerial operations. In total, 15 different departments were on scene until just before 5pm; when the fire was completely extinguished.
Due to the holiday weekend, several mutual aid departments passed on the three MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) requests, which brought departments from as far as Clinton and Manlius. Those two departments handled other calls in the Sterling and Rock Falls areas, while the Cimco fire was being battled by other departments.
Approximately 2,000,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the material. There were no injuries to any employees or responders.
Due to the smoke plume, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency was contacted. They will be following up with a report and air monitoring, through EPA.
