This scrap metal facility has had 13 fires in Camden. It’s suing the city to reopen operations.

A scrap metal recycling facility in Camden that has been prone to fires is suing the city for suspending its operations after its 13th fire in six years.

The city of Camden this month suspended the EMR scrap metal recycling facility’s junkyard license after a late May two-alarm fire that officials said created smoke plumes that stretched to Gloucester Township. It was the latest in a string of several fires in recent years that have plagued the facility and local Camden residents.

In the complaint, filed Monday and first published by WHYY, the company argues that the city acted outside of its power and did not provide due process by issuing the suspension. The company’s legal team says the pause in operations has cost EMR $10 million in lost revenue and operational expenses, as well as irreparable harm in the “competitive, relationship-driven” industry.

The most recent fire occurred on May 29 at 3 a.m. and was under control about two hours later. It led to air quality alerts and broke out just days after the company installed a new fire suppression system.

The company says it had shut down its shredder to investigate the cause of the fire before the city sent a suspension notice on June 4 ordering it to cease its primary operations.

The company said it asked the city on June 12 to continue operating on June 15 after implementing “preventative measures.”

Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said after that fire, “Enough is enough.”

The Camden City Council voted on a resolution Thursday calling on all regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over the facility, including on the county and national levels, to shut the facility down. The company has faced lawsuits over fires at the facility, including from the state attorney general’s office and local residents.

The resolution cites a joint statement signed by Carstarphen, County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash, State Sen. Nilsa-Cruz Perez, City Council President Angel Fuentes, and City Council Vice President Arthur Barclay, all Democrats:

“We will not stand idly by while residents are exposed to fires on a regular basis and have to bear the burdens of an operation that clearly cannot function in a safe manner,” it says in part. “We will no longer allow shelter in place alerts to go out because of another mishap in this scrap metal operation.”

At Thursday’s council meeting, Camden residents called for the facility to be permanently shut down — citing health concerns and other disruptions to their quality of life — and criticized the city for not doing more earlier.

“I just want to say, too little, too late,” said Aliyia Jones, who was among 100 Camden residents who fled their homes after a four-alarm fire at the facility in February 2025.

“No one wants to come here and say ‘finally,’ or ‘thank you,’ or ‘hurrah.’ … We can’t breathe,” she added.

EMR employs 500 people in Camden, including 179 Camden residents, according to the complaint, and if the shutdown continues, employees will face layoffs. EMR workers protested calls to close the facility earlier this month.

Ajeena Riggs, a project manager at the Center for Environmental Transformation, said that she is sympathetic to workers seeking to keep their jobs and that the city and their union should help them find new positions if they lose their employment.

“I don’t blame them for fighting for their jobs,” she said at Thursday’s meeting. “They’re fighting for their livelihood. But the only entity that’s to blame is the EMR.”

The company blames the fires on improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries, but officials said in their joint statement “that story line is old and irrelevant at this point.”

EMR implemented a fire suppression system and agreed to make other changes after entering a memorandum of understanding with the city last summer following the massive February 2025 blaze. Residents at the meeting criticized that agreement as lacking teeth.

Camden city spokesperson Vincent Basara declined to comment on the lawsuit.