At least seven people have been hospitalized, and local residents are being advised to shelter in place, as firefighters seek to control a two-alarm fire at a metal scrap yard along Richmond Highway in Lorton.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched just after 1 p.m. to the Davis Industries property at 9920 Richmond Highway for an outside fire, according to scanner traffic.
Video of the fire captured by traffic cameras and news helicopters shows a thick plume of black smoke issuing from the industrial site.
NEW: This is the smoke from another fire at the scrap yard in the 9900 block of Richmond Highway in Lorton, VA. The fire has gone to two alarms and there are early reports of injuries. @ffxfirerescue is handling. Video from I-95 traffic-cam via @SafetyVid. @charlienbc @ffxnow… pic.twitter.com/s84YQxJP59
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) October 14, 2025
“Units arrived to a large recycling pile on fire & a person trapped in a crane,” the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department said on social media.
A firefighter said that the person in the crane was “currently unconscious, unresponsive and coughing up a lot of phlegm,” calling for an alternative to an available forklift to get him out.
“There’s no way we can remove the patient safely from this area,” the firefighter said on the scanner.
The crane occupant was eventually rescued and transported to a hospital. A firefighter and five other civilians have also been hospitalized, the fire department says.
Officers are on scene assisting with traffic control. Richmond Hwy is shutdown in both directions between Gunston Rd & Hassett St in Lorton. Traffic is being diverted onto Hassett St to Olde Colchester Rd. Please seek an alternate route. https://t.co/zEgzsYubj6 pic.twitter.com/AGqOx2hPij
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 14, 2025
It’s unclear how the firefighter was injured, but responders were directed to don respirator masks due to “burning metals that are toxic” at the site, per the scanner.
The firefighter’s condition is non-life-threatening, an FCFRD spokesperson told FFXnow. One of the civilians experienced life-threatening injuries.
The spokesperson was unable to provide more details about who the hospitalized individuals are and the nature of their injuries because of medical privacy concerns.
Scanner traffic indicates that at least one person, possibly a worker at the site, went to Inova Fairfax Hospital for medical help for smoke inhalation.
As firefighters work to bring the blaze under control, Richmond Highway has been closed in both directions between Gunston Road and Hassett Street. Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department are at the scene, providing traffic control.
“Traffic is being diverted onto Hassett St to Olde Colchester Rd. Please seek an alternate route,” the FCPD said.
Due to the amount of smoke generated by the fire, hazmat crews were brought to the scene to monitor the air, the fire department said at 3:58 p.m., advising residents within a 1-mile radius to shelter in place “out of an abundance of caution.”
Crews were finally able to contain the fire by 5:55 p.m., and the fire department said in an update that all atmospheric readings “have been within normal levels.”
However, the shelter-in-place advisory remained in place until around 8 p.m. Richmond Highway reopened shortly thereafter.
“Fire crews have contained the fire and will remain on scene for a period of time to address any remaining hot spots and continue monitoring conditions,” Fairfax County said in an emergency blog update.
UPDATE 2 (9900 blk Richmond Highway): HazMat crews are conducting air monitoring. Out of an abundance of caution, residents within a one-mile radius are advised to shelter in place. pic.twitter.com/OkBM2fvBgx
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) October 14, 2025
