It took hours to put out a fire Thursday at Dale Recycling & Used Cars in Alto. The fire was reported about 3:15 by a caller who reported that large vehicles at the rear of the business were on fire.
“We got called out for originally I think it was a vehicle on fire,” said Lt. Randi Seabolt of
Habersham County Emergency Services. “We get here and it’s many crushed
vehicles, a lot of rubbish on fire, a bus, two concrete trucks – a whole lot of other
crushed cars on fire.”
A total of 30 personnel from Habersham County Emergency Services, Baldwin Fire
Department, the fire team from Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto, and Hall County Fire
Rescue responded.
“We’ve had a lot of response from all the different departments pulled together,” Seabolt
said. “No structural damage, no injuries reported. Only vehicles and crushed up cars.”
Just after 5 p.m., Seabolt said that though the body of the fire was extinguished the
firefighting effort was not over.
“All this stuff is compacted into different piles so it’s just pulling it all apart and putting
all the fires and the hot spots out of it,” Seabolt said. “It’s going pretty good. We’ve got
all of our people, and our apparatuses are in place and all the training is coming
together. Water supply is adequate. We’re dealing with that because we’re having to flow
heavy amounts of water.”
Alto Water Department personnel responded and remained on scene to assist with
maintaining water for the firefighters.
Smoke from the fire was visible in the Banks Crossing area, from Ga. 365 in Gainesville,
and from Ga. 17 outside Clarkesville. No cause for the fire had been established at last report.
No buildings at Dale Recycling & Used Auto Parts sustained damage, nor did the scales,
or the public pick yard. The area damaged, near the back of the property, contained
large scrap piles and assorted large vehicles.
(Photo courtesy Habersham Co. Sheriff & EMS PIO Rob Moore)