UPDATED: Recycling Company Will Reopen Thursday After Fire

An electronics-recycling company will reopen Thursday after a fire that began in a battery-crushing machine forced the shutdown of operations on Tuesday, said company Vice President John Miller.

Gilroy firefighters received a call reporting the fire at Metech Recycling on 200 Engle Way at 12:24 p.m. The machine where the fire began was toward the edge of the facility, said Capt. Shaun Peyghambari.

The presence of toxic chemicals like cyanide made the fire especially dangerous, the captain said. It took nearly two hours to bring the flames completely under control.

“They have a lot of chemicals there,” Peyghambari said, “It’s a scary building to fight a fire in.”

Responders were able to keep the fire confined to the area surrounding the machine, he said. Metech operates facilities around the U.S., with the Gilroy location being the only one in California, according to its website.

CalFire, the agency responsible for the area surrounding Gilroy, kept watch over the city while all three local engines responded to the incident, the captain said.

The company’s administrative offices remained open Wednesday, but the main recycling operation is on hold while workers clean up the water left over from the activation of their sprinkler system, the company vice president said.

Minutes before bringing the fire fully under control at 2:15 p.m., Sunrise Station Capt. Colin Martin said that they were called to a medical situation at Gilroy Gardens.

An employee had hit their head during a fall, causing concern when they exhibited an “altered level of consciousness,” Martin said.

A helicopter stationed at St. Louise Regional Hospital came to transport the employee to a specialized trauma center in San Jose, he said.

The park was not open to visitors at that time, Martin said.

There were several more medical calls that evening, culminating in a five-car accident on northbound 101 around 6:30 a.m., Capt. Peyghambari said.

There was only one injury in the crash, Peyghambari said.

“It was a busy day,” Capt. Martin said. “We can go from zero to 100 miles an hour at any moment.”