Toxic smoke and flames rose from a scrapyard on Chattanooga's Southside Thursday afternoon, across the railroad tracks from the flourishing neighborhood of Jefferson Heights.
Multiple fire trucks responded to the scene, near the corner of Rossville Avenue and Central Avenue, and firefighters were forced to bring in heavy equipment to battle the blaze.
Two ladder trucks dumped heavy streams of water onto the burning pile of scrap as inky black smoked slowly took on a lighter hue.
"Once they get the fire under control, they're going to bring in some heavy equipment, track hoes, something like that to pull the debris apart," said Bruce Garner, public information officer for the Chattanooga Fire Department.
The call went out at 1:43 p.m. for the fire, which erupted at Mill Direct International, at 2100 Rossville Avenue. There were no reported injuries.
Traffic slowed to a crawl on Central Avenue as passing motorists tried to get a glimpse of the blaze, which was visible from all over the city.
All the commotion drew workers from nearby business out of the office to see what was happening.
Steve Frazee came out of his office at NovaCopy on Central Avenue after hearing fire trucks arrive.
Upon stepping out, he saw "the black, billowing smoke," he said.
Meanwhile, Farrel Grayson and Red Roach were headed south on Highway 27 through Red Bank when the blaze took off, and they saw the pillar of black smoke all the way from north of the Olgiati Bridge.
"We saw it all the way over on 27," said Roach. "As soon as we topped [the hill north of the Olgiati Bridge] off, you could see the smoke coming up."
Grayson and Roach weren't planning on stopping Chattanooga, but wanted to see the cause of the smoke they saw.
"I first thought it had to be a building because of the black smoke," said Grayson.
It is unclear what caused the blaze.
A fire at a scrapyard on Chattanooga's Southside. 
A fire at a scrapyard at the corner of Rossville Avenue and Central Avenue. 
A fire at a scrapyard on Chattanooga's Southside.