About 60 vehicles were damaged on Wednesday following an outdoor fire at Coyne's Automotive Recyclers in Val Caron.
Fire damage to the vehicles was severe, causing $5,000 in damage, said Greater Sudbury Fire Services. Firefighters were called to the scene at about 5:45 p.m.
Some of the bush area surrounding the lot also caught fire, said Public Safety Officer Leo Frappier. The cause and ignition point of the fire is still under investigation.
“When you have vehicles on fire, it does create quite a bit of black smoke, and it was quite visible from a large area of the city,” Frappier said.
“That made the fire a little bit more difficult to handle, but we just applied foam. We were out there for about four hours.”
He said car fires aren't necessarily difficult to fight, but firefighters have to take into account they are dealing with plastics and potentially toxic fumes, so they need to ensure they are in full gear and attack the fire in the appropriate manner.
The bush fire was contained “quickly, probably about 40 minutes,” he said.
Greater Sudbury Fire Services encourages all residents to become familiar with the city's open-air burning bylaw.
“You can go to the city website, and it explains exactly what the rulings are,” Frappier said.
