Fort Myers metal plant fire cleanup underway, business resumes

A large fire erupted at Mome Metals Recycling on Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard in Fort Myers, leaving significant damage but not halting operations for long.

Less than 24 hours after the blaze, the business reopened and resumed operations.

The facility manager, Mohamed Obiedat, explained the situation to WINK News, sharing that the yard is functioning again despite the fire that occurred Tuesday night.

He added that the team is using this time to clean up and install a new fire sprinkler system.

“I had only my last guy about to close the yard and leave,” said Obiedat. “Thankfully, he saw the smoke before he left, and he called 911.”

• Fort Myers recycling facility catches fire; smoke visible for miles

The fire, which involved burning scrap metal, sent a dark cloud of smoke into the air. Firefighters battled the flames for two hours.

“We really appreciate their job,” said Obiedat. “They really saved us, the set of company, and they saved actually the whole neighborhood.”

Obiedat emphasized that today is about moving forward and preparing for the future.

“We had our emergency safety meeting in the morning before we opened our gate,” he said. “I spoke with my employee about what happened yesterday.”

The facility is now working on changing about 100 sprinklers on the shredder building, a process that Obiedat mentioned is protocol after a fire.

As for the cause of the fire, Obiedat speculated, “So, one of the cars was still has a little gas in the tank, and I believe it was a battery there. The one give the sparks for the gas in the tank to start the fire.”

The fire inspector’s report will confirm the cause, which is expected to be released later today, according to a spokesperson for the city of Fort Myers.