Nine crews from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service were called out to the incident at EMR's operating centre on Trinity Road, Kingsbury, from 6.20pm on Monday.
Crews from Tamworth and West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service were also called to assist.
Assistant divisional officer David Pemberton of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue said: “On arrival black smoke was issuing from the scrap yard. The vehicles in the yard were piled high and were well alight.
“It took around 4 hours to get the fire under control and then another four hours to dampen down the area and ensure that the area was safe. The fire was contained and the all of the firefighters in attendance did a great job to ensure that the fire didn’t spread to neighbouring properties,” Mr Pemberton added.
Oil depot
One concern was the site's close proximity to the Kingsbury oil depot, but Warwickshire Fire and Rescue said the fire had been kept under control, with no threat to the oil store. As a precautionary measure, the area was cordoned off and people were advised to close their windows due to the volume of smoke.
Fire investigators said their initial belief was that the fire had been caused by a short-circuiting car battery.
Incident commander Frank Brown explained: “The fire is believed to have been caused by a car battery which short circuited. The company operates in a competent and environmentally-friendly way. All cars are de-polluted of any flammable materials including brake fluid and petrol which is why the fire was easier to control.”
A spokeswoman for EMR told letsrecycle.com the company had no comment to make while it was carrying out its own investigation into the incident.
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