The two-alarm fire Sunday at Grimmel Industries was the seventh fire in less than two decades at the scrap metal recycling plant.
A 1995 fire that caused more than $1 million in damage was determined to be arson. A July 2004 inferno drew firefighters from 17 departments to a three-alarm fire that destroyed several buildings. In September 2009, a four-alarm fire at the plant was the Grimmel’s Topsham facility’s fifth in 14 years.
The cause of Sunday’s blaze — in one of several old rail cars used to store wire and other scrap — will remain undetermined, but Topsham Fire Chief Brian Stockdale said Monday he does not suspect foul play. No injuries were reported.
Grimmel operates seven metal recycling plants including Lewiston and Oakland and one in Portsmouth, N.H.
Stockdale said that since the 2009 fire, owners “have done quite a bit to reduce issues” that could spark fires, including hiring a guard.
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