For the umpteenth time in recent memory, a fire broke out at the Jim Wilkinson Iron and Metal Inc. salvage yard between 14th Street and send toxic clouds billowing over the nearby neighborhoods. The yard is located at 3145 East 14th Street, Brownsville, next to an elementary school.
Neighbors living on Taft Street to the south between Victoria Elementary and the salvage yard were outside their homes hoping the blazing iron and metal inferno could be contained. Firefighters and police were powerless to do anything about the blaze but wit until it burned out.
The Brownsville Fire Department responded to 911 calls at around 2 a.m. Three fire trucks and a medic unit were sent out to the business.
It took firefighters four hours to put out the flames and they said no injuries were reported. In April, firefighters said they responded to an explosion at the recycling center.
However, bystanders as far back as the railroad tracks behind the recycling center reported that toxic droplets falling from the billowing white and black smoke were falling as the cloud moved northwest pushed by a southeast wind.
"I felt drops falling on me and I looked at the sky but I couldn't see any clouds other than the smoke coming from the fire," said a man standing along the fence line of his home. "There were at least a half-dozen explosions coming from the fire."
The flames of the red-hot metal fire were spectacular, with red and yellow tongues rising above the pine trees landscaping the rear of the yard. Neighbors speculated what could be dropping from the cloud, but some complained of a burning sensation. this morning, one of the residents reported that he had broken out in small sores even though he showered when he begin to feel discomfort.
"This kind of business doesn't belong next to an elementary school or a neighborhood," he said. "Someone ought to do something about this."
8 comments:
People will get sick and die before the shitty municipal government even looks at this problem. Why doesn't the state environmental agency get involved?
"This kind of business doesn't belong next to an elementary school or a neighborhood," he said. "Someone ought to do something about this."
Question is:
Who gave permission for Rack Daddys to be next to the aquatic center?
Who gave permission for the VFW to be next to BISD Main Building?
Who Gave permission for the Bars to be close by elementary schools?
an important reminder of the need to talk about systemic and environmental racism/classism, even in a place like Brownsville. is it some cosmic coincidence that the working poor and majority Mexican/Latino residents are so overrepresented in industrially-zoned sections of the city and overburdened with the threats of pollution/contamination, in comparison with whites/anglos and the rich?
is it just me or have the contrasts between a neighborhood like Southmost and the Hudson developments become much more pronounced lately?
juan this site has been there for many years as i recall as youngster who lived in the area the junkyard or recycling center as its called today has had many fire throughtout the last 40 plus years but the city or tceq has never done a thing to fine or move the area, i think the zoning is industrial so its allowed to exist.
Where is the Fire Marshal? Oh, that's right. The isn't one.
Have the Fire Marshal's office cite them along with the health dept.
why not send willy gonzalez from public health to fix this guys, he has gun and shoots people, no problema
I live in Parkview. more than 50% of the residents come from Southmost. Three generations in one house. The neighbor behind me starts welding and hammering at around 6:30am everyday. My bike, my barbecue pit, that I had just restored, my fishing poll, have all been stolen within six years. Graffiti is all over the place. Some lawns don't even have grass, and three cars that don't run litter some driveways. Cats run around like roaches. Hudson's fields in front are breeding grounds for countless mice, rats, and roaches. When it rains we flood every time. I have heard so many people that don't live in a Hudson development speak of this so called contrast. I grew up in las Palmas off of Palm. I didn't want to stay so I left.There is no real difference between Parkview and Southmost except for the age of the homes. The people are the same. I guess it's just you.
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