Tire Fire

A pile of tires burn Thursday on a property along Broadfording Road.

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.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - A tire fire that kept firefighters busy for 10 hours on Thursday was still smoldering Friday, keeping a small crew at the scene working with hoses and a giant front-end loader. Smoke continued to rise from tires buried under tons of wet dirt that had been piled over them on Thursday. They had to be dug up so firefighters could douse them again with water. "It's the only way to get water to them," said Kerry A. Leib, program manager with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's regional emergency response team.

By TERRY TALBERT Staff Writer When the tires in Denzil Poling's Cearfoss yard caught fire on Tuesday, his neighbor's worst nightmares came true. Melvin W. Sours, whose yard backs up to Poling's property, stood in the wooded area behind his home as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze across the way. For Sours, the fire had literally hit close to home. He was angry. "I told the county this was going to happen," he said, shaking his head. "It scared me," said his wife, Rosa Sours, of her reaction when she saw the flames.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer ROHRERSVILLE - Volunteer firefighters battled a tire fire on a farm on Millbrook Road for several hours Wednesday as state environmental officials watched to make sure runoff did not affect a nearby creek. Firefighters from the First Hose Co. of Boonsboro arrived at 19918 Millbrook Road about 5 p.m. Deputy Chief Curt Fales said at about 10:30 p.m. that officials expected the fire to burn for another two or three hours. Fales said he initially called for only one fire truck.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A fire that erupted in a pile of up to 2,000 tires early Thursday in Montgomery Township, Pa., drew firefighters from a dozen companies in three counties and prompted an environmental warning. Units from Franklin and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania and Washington County, Md., responded to the fire at 4886 Rice Hollow Road. [cont. from front page ] The fire was called in at 5:36 a.m. The last units left the scene more than 10 hours later but returned at about 5:50 p.m. when the fire rekindled.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer A 13-hour fire can burn a hole in a fire company's budget. It cost $508 just to feed Washington County firefighters during a tire pile blaze in Cearfoss last month. The March 11 fire destroyed a 100-by-200 foot stretch of tires used for gardening purposes behind a house on 17049 Castle Hill Road. And because insurance won't cover the losses, 13 local fire companies have been left holding the bill for the $40,000 in materials, supplies and personnel costs to fight the blaze, according to Incident Commander Lt. Ian Swisher of the Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Co. In comparison, Swisher said, it costs between $3,000 and $4,000 to battle a typical house fire.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer Fire officials Thursday estimated that the cost of fighting a tire fire near Cearfoss on Tuesday could reach $100,000, and state officials said they are reviewing the price of cleaning up the property. Incident Commander Lt. Ian Swisher of the Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Co. said the department is tallying up costs of battling the blaze, which burned for about 13 hours and destroyed a 100-by-200 foot stretch behind a home on 17049 Castle Hill Road.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer CEARFOSS - One day after fire burned a 100-by-200 foot area behind his home, destroying the columns of tires he used as planters, Denzil Poling surveyed the damage. "For five years, I've been building a firetrap," Poling said Wednesday. What Poling in 1992 viewed as a grand experiment involving tire recycling and conservation, on Tuesday became a nightmare. He said that he blames the State of Maryland for letting him use the tires for his inventive method of gardening.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - MMP&W firefighters spent three hours Sunday night at the scene of a tire fire in Montgomery Township, Pa. Much of that time was spent waiting for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Deputy Chief Doug Chilcote said. "The main concern is just worrying about runoff," he said. The fire department put down devices to contain runoff, and Chilcote said the DEP plans to return today to investigate further. The fire, which involved 100 to 150 tires and metal debris, was reported at 6:30 p.m. at 11748 Punch Bowl Road.

A pile of tires burn Thursday on a property along Broadfording Road.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - MMP&W firefighters spent three hours Sunday night at the scene of a tire fire in Montgomery Township, Pa. Much of that time was spent waiting for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Deputy Chief Doug Chilcote said. "The main concern is just worrying about runoff," he said. The fire department put down devices to contain runoff, and Chilcote said the DEP plans to return today to investigate further. The fire, which involved 100 to 150 tires and metal debris, was reported at 6:30 p.m. at 11748 Punch Bowl Road.

Site of tire fire eyed for recycling center By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town INWOOD, W.Va. - A 10-acre site where 3 million tires caught fire eight years is being considered as the home for a new recycling center, a county official said Sunday. Hundreds of firefighters from the Tri-State area worked for 36 hours when the tire pile caught fire in September 1993. The state Department of Environmental Protection spent $6 million cleaning up the site and has owned the property since then, said Clint Hogbin, chairman of the Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority.

Recycling center set at site ol old tire pile fire By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va - Berkeley County officials want to turn the site of a former tire fire in Inwood, W.Va., into a center for recycling. "It's kind of a nice recycling from what was one of the worst environmental hazards in the county into one of its environmental assets," said Clint Hogbin, president of the Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority. The state Division of Environmental Protection has agreed to transfer the 10-acre site at the end of Pilgrim Road to the authority.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will reimburse Washington County for about $25,000 in costs resulting from a 1997 tire fire at an experimental farm near Maugansville. The blaze along a 100-by-200 foot section of tires behind a house on 17049 Castle Hill Road was one of the more unusual fires in the county in recent years, Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Phil Ridenour said. It took firefighters 13 hours to put out the March 11, 1997, fire, and it cost about $46,000 to battle the blaze, said Norman Bassett, county spokesman.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The owner of a Montgomery Township property where a tire fire broke out last week will be ordered to remove most of the tires from the site, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection official said Wednesday. [cont. from news page ] Department spokeswoman Karen Sitler said a cease-and-desist order will be delivered to John Jackson today. He owns the property at 4886 Rice Hollow Road where a pile of more than 1,000 tires caught fire last Thursday.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A tire fire last Thursday in Montgomery Township, Pa., did not pollute a nearby stream, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. "We just got our results back today and there wasn't anything in the runoff that would have affected the stream," spokeswoman Sandy Roderick said Tuesday. The fire last week at 4886 Rice Hollow Road involved several hundred of an estimated 2,000 discarded tires on property owned by Jon Jackson and his sons Jerry and Richard.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - A tire fire that kept firefighters busy for 10 hours on Thursday was still smoldering Friday, keeping a small crew at the scene working with hoses and a giant front-end loader. Smoke continued to rise from tires buried under tons of wet dirt that had been piled over them on Thursday. They had to be dug up so firefighters could douse them again with water. "It's the only way to get water to them," said Kerry A. Leib, program manager with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's regional emergency response team.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A fire that erupted in a pile of up to 2,000 tires early Thursday in Montgomery Township, Pa., drew firefighters from a dozen companies in three counties and prompted an environmental warning. Units from Franklin and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania and Washington County, Md., responded to the fire at 4886 Rice Hollow Road. [cont. from front page ] The fire was called in at 5:36 a.m. The last units left the scene more than 10 hours later but returned at about 5:50 p.m. when the fire rekindled.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer FAIRPLAY - The last chance for the Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Co. to recoup some of the costs of fighting a massive tire fire in Cearfoss last March may be the federal government. The Washington County Commissioners denied a request to help the fire company pay some of costs at its meeting two weeks ago. The state of Maryland also has turned Maugansville down. The fire company was forced to search for outside funds because the property owner's insurance did not cover the fire, which broke out along a 100-by-200 foot section of tires behind a house on 17049 Castle Hill Road.