Cause unknown in New Carlisle scrapyard fire and likely to remain a mystery

Fire crews were dispatched to Smilex Road around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and battled the smoke and flames for about eight hours. Billowing smoke could be seen from live ABC57 field crews during the evening and late newscasts.

Now, it seems to be just a matter of time before something similar happens again.

"I'm not sure we'll ever know the cause of the fire," Chad Hess said.

ABC57 spoke to Hess, assistant fire chief of the New Carlisle Fire Department.

"There's no way for us to factually dig into there and find a root cause of the fire," Hess said. "When it's just a pile of metal and other debris that's in cars when it gets crushed and things like that, we're very limited in the amount of investigation we can do on it."

Despite the investigative uncertainty, Hess said the response was a success; it was not only well-coordinated but far-reaching.

"Really demonstrates the mutual aid capabilities," he said. "Essentially, we're using up to three water systems to supply the fight in this fire."

Nine agencies showed up to assist the New Carlisle Fire Department, either with firetrucks or tankers full of water. This location has had fires before, including one in 2021, and Hess said so much water was used then that it affected the town's local supply. This time, the New Carlisle fire department knew it needed water brought in.

Surprisingly, Hess said there's been no damage done. It was the scrap pile that caught fire; the flames did not ruin OmniSource's scrap metal recycling machines.

Though neighbors may say a scrap yard can be a nuisance, Hess said OmniSource has been very cooperative, implementing fire prevention measures since the 2021 fire and providing cold drinking water Tuesday to first responders.

Still, without knowing the cause, how can future fires be prevented?

"I think to say it's not going to happen again would be wrong," Hess said. "I think there's a very good chance that it's going to happen again. But when? It's something we'll never know."

OmniSource was closed Wednesday due to the fire, but workers were still moving materials on-site.

OmniSource sent ABC57 the following statement:

"We are thankful to the New Carlisle Fire Department and the other responding area fire departments for their swift and coordinated response. They were able to extinguish the fire late in the evening on July 7, 2026. An investigation is underway, and we will work closely with the appropriate authorities throughout this process. At this time, no further details regarding the incident are available."

These pictures were provided today by the New Carlisle Fire Department: