R.I. Recycled Metals reopens with infrared cameras, fire safety plan

Rhode Island Recycled Metals reopened Monday, having met the court-ordered conditions for fire mitigation, including installation of thermal detection cameras, Patrick Sweeney, a company spokesperson, confirmed.

The South Providence scrapyard was forced to close for over a month following a July 10 fire that prompted renewed scrutiny over its safety and operations, alongside long-standing environmental problems. A Providence County Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against the company days after the July fire, requiring additional fire safety measures be taken before it could reopen. 

On Monday, the company submitted the required certificate showing proof it had fulfilled the final requirement — installation of infrared cameras that can offer early detection of heat and fire — throughout the 12-acre property. Other fire and workplace safety measures, including employee training, a phone tree for emergency situations, and separating the scrap pile into two, smaller piles, had already been implemented when Rhode Island Associate Justice Brian Stern reviewed the company plan last week.

Stern’s permission to reopen is also conditioned upon the company retaining a fire prevention expert to ensure the written plan is followed, alongside regular check-ins with the court-appointed special master. 

However, the legal battle is not over. The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, who have been in litigation with the company since 2015, sought to have the scrapyard transferred into receivership after the July fire. Stern has not yet addressed that petition, instead deferring a decision until after additional hearings, which have not yet been scheduled.

Separately, the company is also going through the beginnings of an environmental cleanup to remediate potentially hazardous materials buried in the land, and to add a stormwater management system. The process was required by DEM, which issued a $20,000 fine against the company in December, ramping up enforcement in the 15-year fight over lack of environmental permits.

The city of Providence also sued the company in April, days before the fire, arguing it has been illegally operating without a license since 2014, according to the complaint filed in Providence County Superior Court. 

Both fires that broke out at the plant this year remain under investigation by the Providence Fire Department.