Firefighters from several area departments battle a blaze Saturday that tore through stacks of vehicles at Automatic Recycling in Benwood, owned by Strauss Industries. Officials estimate 2 million gallons of water were used to fight the inferno. (Photos by Scott McCloskey)

BENWOOD — A Saturday night fire at a Benwood recycling yard is being investigated as “suspicious,” according to Benwood officials.

Black smoke could be seen for miles Saturday as stacks of vehicles caught fire near the Ohio River at Automatic Recycling owned by Strauss Industries. The metal recycling plant sits in the southern end of Benwood’s industrial park and borders McMechen.

The first calls about the fire came in around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and the blaze continued burning well into the night. Firefighters were at the scene until after midnight, said Police Chief Frank Longwell.

Benwood Fire Department members were not available for comment on Sunday, and Longwell said he would speak for the city.

The fire started inside a stack of flattened pre-crushed cars that were going to next be shredded, he said.

The tires, electrical systems and gasoline had been removed from them.

“That’s what makes this suspicious,” Longwell said. “All that is done before they are crushed.”

He termed property damage “minimal,” and said there were no injuries.

Longwell estimates, however, more than 2 million gallons of water was used while fighting the blaze over six hours.

The water came from Benwood’s own plant, and McMechen also supplied water, he said. Tanker trucks also pulled water from the river at the McMechen dock that was used in fighting the fire. Benwood residents retained water pressure during and after the fire, and there is no concern about a lack of water in the city, according to Longwell.

Benwood Fire Chief Garson Tayor said Saturday they had many local area fire departments assisting with battling the blaze.

“We have a second round tanker task force. We have a lot of units on scene,” Taylor explained.

Among them were those from Glen Dale, McMechen, Moundsville, Sherrard, Mt. Olivet and Wheeling. Marshall County EMA Director Tom Hart was present, as was Ohio County EMA Director Lou Vargo.

Taylor said there were around “eight stacks of cars fully involved” on the scene and he was unaware of the cause of the fire.

Just after 8 p.m., Taylor said they had the fire under control, as they had it surrounded with many area departments that continued to douse the stacks of burning cars with water. He said Benwood and Wheeling Fire departments were assisting in spraying water on the fire from boats positioned on the river.

Taylor said at one time they had concerns about the fire possibly spreading to nearby CSX train cars that were holding “fuel tanks,” but felt they were able to contain the fire from spreading to that area. He said the train cars were positioned about 500 yards from the fire. He said CSX officials advised them the train cars were loaded with “some sort of fuel.”