KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — Crews cleared the scene of a fire at a recycling plant on Tuesday morning in Kernersville after being at the scene for over 60 hours. At 3:54 p.m. Sunday, the Kernersville Fire Rescue Department responded to a fire at the metal recycling facility OmniSource Corporati on on West Mountain Street and found a large scrap pile burning, which spread to a nearby conveyor belt structure. The size of the fire required a multi-agency response, including firefighters from Winston-Salem, Piney Grove, Walkertown and the Forsyth County Fire Department. “I am a retired firefighter, and I lived near a recycle plant before, and I have seen these things go up, and that was a good one ... It was quite intense,” said Gary Zeiders, who lives near the recycling plant. The fire caused a large black plume of smoke that was visible in residential areas. “I was out working in my backyard, and I saw a plume of smoke, and I didn’t pay much attention," Terry Templeton said. He lives right across West Mountain Street from OmniSource. “We knew they were there when we built here. We like this subdivision ... It would be nice if they moved,” Templeton said. In a news release on Monday morning, the Kernersville Fire Rescue Department confirmed the large smoke plume and stated that Forsyth County Emergency Management is conducting air quality monitoring and addressing water runoff concerns. Crews cleared the scene at around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and there are no hazards to the the public at this time. OmniSource is expected to resume normal operations. One firefighter was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and has since been released and is said to be in good health. No other injuries to firefighters or civilians have been reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Records show the KFD has responded to OmniSource for reports of outside fires about a dozen other times in the past five years. The company is based out of Indiana and has 70 locations across the country. According to its website, the company collects, processes and resells steel, aluminum, copper and stainless steel. FOX8 reached out to OmniSource to learn more about their safety protocol and if any changes will be made, but we have not heard back. “They do happen. It is part of the process of recycling and processing ... It is unfortunately unavoidable,” Assistant Fire Marshal Chris Kauffman said. Once the spark happens in a pile of debris often 20 to 30 feet tall, it can be hard to contain the fire quickly. “The challenges ... were water supply and accessing the areas. There were large piles of scrap, so once the fire gets down there, it is hard to penetrate that with water,” Kauffman said. The runoff water and air quality have been tested and are safe. “It is going to happen again eventually, so it means people need to be aware of it ... When they see things like this happen, close your windows and get away from it as best as you can,” Zeiders said. ...read more read less