Smiley, elected officials again urge action after Allens Avenue scrap yard catches fire for second time

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Mayor Brett Smiley and members of the Providence City Council and state legislature called for the State of Rhode Island to take “immediate action” against a scrap yard that caught fire for the second time in three months.

The scrap yard on Allens Avenue, which is owned by Rhode Island Recycled Metals, caught fire again on July 10 while previously having burned on April 11.

Smiley said that the city has attempted to close the yard multiple times while a case on its operations is pending in Providence Superior Court.

The city had previously issued a cease-and-desist on operations at the yard on March 8 after the owners withdrew a necessary application, and the city council passed a resolution in May calling for the closure due to “environmental concerns.”

“We are furious at yet another environmental disaster at our neighborhood pariah, Rhode Island Recycled Metals,” Councilman Pedro Espinal, Sen. Tiara Mack, and Rep. Jose Batista said in a statement. “The third fire in three years, and second this year, is so big it is taking 30 firefighters to battle it, depleting resources and wasting taxpayer dollars.”

Both are calling for the state government to take action to close the yard.

The Smiley statement can be read below:

This is a property where we need the State’s support to take immediate action. This facility is unlicensed by municipal standards and we have made multiple attempts to close this business after they withdrew their application to come into compliance. We then issued a cease and desist which has clearly been ignored while a legal case remains pending in Providence Superior Court.

This is the second fire at this site in the past few months. It is critical for the safety and public health of our neighbors that operations are ceased until this facility obtains all necessary licenses. We are again requesting, and in this case demanding, that the State hold them accountable for the multiple matters that are squarely within their jurisdiction.

The statement from Espinal, Mack, and Batista follows:

As the elected legislators who represent this area, we are furious at yet another environmental disaster at our neighborhood pariah, Rhode Island Recycled Metals. The third fire in three years, and second this year, is so big it is taking 30 firefighters to battle it, depleting resources and wasting taxpayer dollars. RI Recycled Metals are a bad faith actor whose negligence and malfeasance are poisoning South Providence residents. Enough is enough. We demand the immediate closure of the scrapyard, and will continue to explore every possible legal mechanism at the city and state’s disposal to ensure they are shut down. We are calling on the Superior Court to approve the city’s cease-and desist order, and ask the Department of Environmental Management, attorney general, and governor to take immediate action to shut down Rhode Island Recycled Metals and end this public health nightmare.