DE SOTO, Mo. — A De Soto recycling plant was destroyed in a fire Tuesday night.
A view from Sky5 around 6:30 p.m. showed massive flames at the Proud Veteran Resources and Recycling. Several fire trucks could be seen spraying water on the flames.
By about 7:45 p.m., it appeared firefighters were able to extinguish most of the heavy flames. A photo taken by 5 On Your Side's Justina Coronel showed heavy damage to the building.
Police closed off the streets around the plant. De Soto police posted on its Facebook page, asking people to avoid driving in the area.
It is not yet clear what may have caused the fire. In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, the De Soto Fire Department said the building was "not able to be saved."
The plant is located at 112 E. Clement St. near the city's Main Street. There are several businesses nearby, including a restaurant, a bar, and the historic Arlington Event Center, which was recently renovated. The fire department said no homes or other buildings in the area were lost in the fire.
In a Facebook post, the department thanked the De Soto Rural Fire Auxiliary for providing firefighters with refreshments and food to keep them going for more than seven hours.
"De Soto is a small town, it’s a small community," said resident Emily Schaumburg. "Seeing even a paper recycle thing to go up in flames, it’s a lot, it's a lot to take in."
The fire department also thanked the agencies who assisted them in battling the fire including:
- De Soto Rural Fire Protection District
- Hillsboro Fire Protection District
- Hematite Fire Protection District
- Cedar Hill Fire Protection District
- Crystal City Fire Department
- Festus Fire Department
- Goldman Fire Protection District
- Herculaneum Fire Department
- High Ridge Fire Protection District
- Jefferson R-7 Fire Protection District
- Mapaville Fire Protection District
- Rock Community Fire Protection District
- Saline Valley Fire Protection District
- Big River Fire Protection District
- Potosi Fire Protection District
- St. Clair Fire Protection District
- Valle Ambulance District
- De Soto Police Department
- De Soto Public Works