Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Fire-damaged Kensington junkyard ordered to shut down by city

The order to cease operations came just two weeks after a spectacular fire at the Kensington junkyard left it in "further deterioration" a city official said.

Authorities work to extinguish a stubborn junkyard fire in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. The fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and spewed thick smoke and flames that could be seen for miles. Authorities say the burning materials consisted mainly of metal, wood, and paper.
Authorities work to extinguish a stubborn junkyard fire in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. The fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and spewed thick smoke and flames that could be seen for miles. Authorities say the burning materials consisted mainly of metal, wood, and paper.Read moreMatt Rourke
    by Meghan Bobrowsky
    Updated 
    Published 

The Kensington junkyard that reopened just two weeks after a spectacular fire has been ordered to shut down by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Until the junkyard, Philadelphia Metal & Resource Recovery, drastically reduces its scrap piles to 10 feet and creates clear fire lanes between piles, it cannot legally accept new materials, L&I spokesperson Karen Guss said late Wednesday. At the time of the fire, its scrap piles were as high as 30 feet.

Guss said the order to cease operations comes as a result of the blaze two weeks ago that she said caused "further deterioration" of the property.

L&I has cited it multiple times in the last 10 years for violations including "mislabeled storage containers" and an "excessive collection of tires," according to public records. The city has taken the junkyard to court twice, and a Common Pleas Court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 30.

The owner could not be reached for comment on the order to close.

Rebekah Wilcox, who lives in the neighborhood, said she was glad the city issued the shutdown order but was skeptical the company would comply.

"After I learned all of the violations they've been written up for, it makes me wonder if they're really going to make the changes," Wilcox said. "I'll  be watching, for sure."