Firefighters Contain Massive Tire Blaze in Fairfield Township

From the AC Press Published: Monday, December 24, 2007
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, 609-463-6713



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FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP - A massive blaze from a pile of about 60,000 used tires burned through Saturday night into Sunday afternoon in a former gravel pit off Elmer Road in Fairfield Township, State Police in Port Norris said. The fire, which was first reported at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and deemed under control shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday, sent thick smoke soaring from the Griner tire facility at 570 Elmer Road, said Anthony Buono, Cumberland County's deputy public information officer.

Firefighters used a foam fire suppressant on the thousands of tires to combat the blaze, he said.

No injuries were reported.

Police said 33 fire companies, as well as forest fire units, EMS and Cumberland County Emergency Management, responded to the scene. They received assistance from Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic and Cape May counties, Buono said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, police said, and it is unknown whether it was started intentionally. The owner of the facility reportedly was told by the township last summer to clean up the site and that the facility, which was temporarily closed, could be shuttered permanently if it wasn't cleaned up.

Cumberland County activated its new reverse 911 system to contact people living within a mile of the fire, Buono said.

The phone calls informed neighbors of the burning rubber smell and provided them with phone numbers for more information, Buono said.

"It smelled like a big pile of burning rubber - almost like a fan belt on your car when it burns. And multiply that by a couple thousand," he said. "It was a pretty strong odor."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press: BIanieri@pressofac.com