A fire that erupted Monday in an automobile salvage yard on the east end of Riverside consumed several junked cars and threatened to spread to a neighboring business before firefighters stopped it.
The non-injury blaze was reported just before 7 a.m. at Allied Auto Salvage in the 1900 block of Spruce Street, near Kansas Avenue, below Interstate 215, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
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Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst said three engine crews and a truck company, numbering around 20 personnel, were sent to the location and encountered flames raging in a "large pile of salvaged automobiles."
"Crews faced challenges with water supply and needed extended hose lays to reach the fire," Vanderhorst said. "There was an immediate threat to a neighboring business structure."
Firefighters prevented the flames from extending to the business, fully containing the blaze within an hour and completely knocking it down shortly before 9 a.m.
The battalion chief said salvage yard workers provided essential assistance, using "heavy machinery to break apart the pile, allowing for more effective extinguishment."
Traffic on I-215 was not impacted by the thick smoke rising from the site, and no road closures were required on surrounding surface streets.
Vanderhorst said the cause of the fire was under investigation, with both city Department of Code Enforcement personnel and fire prevention inspectors working to determine whether potential misuse of equipment or other regulatory violations might have contributing factors.
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