3 hospitalized after fire causes explosions at Montclair metal recycling yard

A fire at a metal recycling yard in Montclair set off a series of explosions that alarmed nearby residents, briefly put nearby schools on a precautionary lockdown and caused an evacuation order 

The fire, which happened at a metal recycling yard that deals with pressurized propane tanks, set off several small explosions on 3rd Street near Silicon Avenue at about 9 a.m. Thursday.

While the fire burned, sending black smoke high up into the sky, video taken by bystanders shows there were a series of explosions. A witness said it was raining scrap metal for a while and he was forced to dodge flying metal canisters as he rushed to move his car, which was parked right outside the fence of the recycling yard.

"The fire was igniting, and then when I moved my car, that's when I parked and turned around and all of a sudden I'm seeing all this scrap metal going in the air," Mario Rubio said. "It's kind of like rain, but with metal, kind of."

Several streets surrounding the scrap yard remain closed off.

Four people were hurt in the fire, three of whom were hospitalized for burn and shrapnel injuries. Their condition is not known at this time.

At least two structures were heavily damaged, and the explosions left propane tank debris scattered across the area.

Ontario-Montclair School District officials say they briefly put some of its campuses near the incident on a precautionary lockdown, but the fire was contained to the Marion Avenue site and has not impacted any of its schools or disrupted instruction.

As a result, an evacuation order was issued at around 3 p.m. for certain areas of Montclair including:

• State Street between Ramona Avenue and Silicon Avenue
• Westbound Mission Boulevard between Ramona Avenue and Silicon Avenue
• All of Ramona Avenue and Silicon Avenue between Mission Boulevard and State Street.

The Montclair Fire Department said they evacuated about 50 people downwind of the fire because they found several tanks leaking toxic chemicals including chlorine and acetylene. 

"Right now we've had air monitoring in place," said MFD battalion chief Ryon Dierick. "WE've been working with the EPA as well. We now believe the levels are at an acceptable level."

According to the Montclair Police Department, the evacuation orders were lifted at about 8:20 p.m.

Bomb squad and hazmat teams have responded to the scene, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.