Tire fire burns near Cearfoss

March 11, 1997

By LAURA ERNDE

Staff Writer

CEARFOSS - A tire fire was burning across a 100-by-200 foot area on property behind the house of Denzil and Delores Poling near Cearfoss on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire broke out before l p.m. in piles of tires being used as planters. About one-third of the thousands of tires on the property were burning Tuesday afternoon, according to Poling and firefighters.

The thick black smoke billowing from the fire on Castle Hill Road off Md. 63 south of the Pennsylvania line drifted toward Hagerstown and could be seen from 25 miles away on Interstate 81.

Poling had fought authorities for the right to legally keep the tires on his property and use them for gardening purposes.

"It's a mistake, I made a mistake convincing everybody to let me do this," Poling said.

Poling used the tires to form planters for gardening purposes. Some of the planters were at least five feet tall, with tires piled eight deep.

State Fire Marshal James Michael Woods said the fire started accidentally, but authorities did not know what caused it to break up.

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