Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spent Thursday night battling a large tire fire at Alex's Metal Recycling in the 4400 block of Raleigh Street.
- Fire reported at about 6 p.m.
- Extra water tankers, foam used to put out fire
- Fire does not look suspicious, say fire officials
The fire was reported about 6 p.m. HCFR Spokesman Corey Dierdorff said more than a dozen units were called to help get it under control.
Dierdorff said the closest fire hydrant was about 1,200 feet away, so they brought in extra water tankers and also used foam to put the fire out.
"People all around the Tampa Bay area saw a very large column of smoke," Dierdorff said. "It doesn't seem to be endangering any homes right now. It's contained to the middle of the recycling facility with lots of extra space around it."
Fire officials did contact CSX Railroad to shut down tracks in the area so trains wouldn't cut water hoses. TECO also shut down power lines nearby to prevent an explosion and protect firefighters from getting hurt.
Firefighters expect to be monitoring the scene overnight.
Investigators don't know what started the fire yet, but they said it does not look suspicious.