MORGAN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A fire that started at a tire shop Tuesday night is still burning Wednesday afternoon, sending clouds of noxious black smoke billowing over nearby homes and roads.
Morgan Township firefighters spent Tuesday night trying to douse thousands of burning tires at Wholesale Tire Mart, according to Butler County Incident Management spokeswoman Katharine Clayton. By Wednesday afternoon, crews were waiting for the fire to burn out.
Fire chief Jeff Galloway said his department was already familiar with the business. Because the shop stores thousands of industrial tires as well as flammable chemicals, firefighters perform a safety walkthrough of the 15,000-square-foot building each year.
Galloway said the situation is "heartbreaking" for the employees and the community.
“It’s going to be a little bit of a hardship for the community here for a while because a lot of the locals did come shop here for tires as well," Galloway said.
By 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters said they planned to let the fire burn itself out and then drop foam from above to finish it off.
10+ hours and it’s still burning.
Wholesale Tire Mart in Morgan Township has just one wall left that hasn’t collapsed (yet).
Crews say the chemical inside means they’re on defense — will let fire burn itself out til’ 8 AM. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/aLDfdR9qmv
— Jasmine Minor (@jasmineminortv) February 19, 2020
