GALT – Billowing smoke obscured the sun Thursday afternoon at Cimco Recycling, where a giant heap of shredded scrap tires and car interiors – known in the industry as 'fluff' – caught fire around 4 p.m.

The cause of the fire at the metal recycling facility had not been determined by Thursday night, but arson was not suspected, Sterling Fire Capt. Randy Ellmaker said. The department will continue its investigation today.

No one was injured, and no buildings were involved.

Fighting the fire proved a bit difficult because Cimco, 13509 Galt Road, has no fire hydrant. The closest was at Galt Road and state Route 2, east of the site.

Firefighters from eight departments responded; the scene was cleared around 10 p.m., Ellmaker said. The fire was contained, but not out.

"It's out as much as we can get it out," Ellmaker said. It's such a big pile that "it's going to smolder for a while, and we're going to have to soak it some more today."

Ken Sloter, 20, of Dixon, a Cimco employee, said 90 percent of the debris that burned was rubber.

Cimco truck driver Todd Auton, 37, of Marion, waited along the company's access road.

Rockford-based parent company Cimco Resources Inc. has several facilities in Illinois, and Auton was making one of his three weekly trips from its Marion site to Sterling.

He was prepared to wait.

"In the morning, I'll unload," Auton said. "If they let me."