Fire departments from 10 towns battled a fire that broke out Monday evening at a scrap metal yard in Topsham.

A dispatcher for Sagadahoc County said the fire at Grimmel Industries, at 80 Pejepscot Village, was reported at 5:57 p.m.

No injuries were immediately reported, but the dispatcher said it was likely it could take hours for the fire to be brought under control.

Firefighting crews were still at the fire scene late Monday night.

WCSH-TV reported that people could smell smoke from the fire two miles away and that much of the town was filled with smoke.

In July 2013, crews from seven fire departments fought a rail car fire at Grimmel Industries that burned for more than three hours. When firefighters arrived at that fire, they encountered flames as high as 30 feet. Tanker trucks were used to transport water into the site because there are no fire hydrants.

Grimmel Industries, off Route 196 near the Androscoggin River, describes itself as “buyers of scrap metal.” It also operates a facility in Lewiston. Both locations collect and recycle scrap metal.


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