Crews put out fire at Garden Street recycling in Fort Myers

FORT MYERS, Fla.- A large fire at a recycling center is now out.

It started around 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon at Garden Street Iron and Metal on Metro Parkway. The smoke could be seen for miles.

There is no official cause but the owner tells WINK News it started in a pile of scrap that included plastic appliances and old construction materials.

The owner says he believes the fire got out of hand because of a recent inspection from the fire department. During that inspection, the company was asked to pull a fire hose they’ve been using for years.

“Generally if we see something small like that, we can either take a crane, get the material, throw it out. We’d be putting water on it right away. Didn’t have water available at that point it just took too long,” said Robert Weber.