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Rumpke tire recycling plant fire ruled ‘accidental’

Staff Photo by Nick Graham An early morning fire broke out at the Rumpke Scrap Tire Facility Thursday, July 22, 2010.

Photos: Fire at Rumpke Scrap Tire

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Firefighters battle a blaze at the Rumpke Scrap Tire Facility early Thursday morning, July 22, 2010 in St. Clair Township.

Staff Photo by Nick Graham Firefighters battle a blaze at the Rumpke Scrap Tire Facility early Thursday morning, July 22, 2010 in St. Clair Township.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 1:07 AM Friday, July 23, 2010

ST. CLAIR TWP. — The Rumpke Tire Recycling Facility just outside New Miami will be closed for days after fire damaged equipment and gutted the building where tires are shredded.

Firefighters worked through the early morning hours Thursday, July 22, to keep down the fire at the facility in the 3800 block of South Street. The state fire marshal ruled that the blaze was accidental, likely caused by friction and heat buildup in a conveyor belt system inside a building.

No one was injured in the blaze, which caused approximately $200,000 in damage, according to the fire marshal.

The fire was reported around 1:45 a.m. by a passerby. St. Clair Twp. Fire Chief Terry White, who lives near there, was one of the first on scene. “I saw the glow from my house, so I just came over here,” he said.

The large metal building involved in the blaze houses a machine that shreds tires into smaller chunks that Rumpke uses to build protective liners at its landfill.

White said that when he arrived, flames were shooting over the top of the building and tires on the conveyor belt leading into the structure were on fire along with a 4-foot-tall pile of rubber shreds.

White called for assistance from New Miami and Seven Mile, and said the fire was under control within 45 minutes. Several small piles of rubber and tires continued to smolder, he said.

“We just now finished putting some of the last hot spots out,” he said at 8:15 a.m.

Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Galloway was on the scene marking the pools of petroleum left from the burnt tires. “When the tires burn, they put off the petroleum base,” he said.

Galloway said the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency would work with Rumpke to protect groundwater from leaching petroleum.

Rumpke spokeswoman Molly Yeager said in a statement that no one was working at the property when the fire began.

She said the site will be closed for the next few days, though tire collection will continue without interruption. The facility processes about 1.5 million tires annually.

“Rumpke appreciates the quick reaction of the fire departments. Their timely responses minimized damage,” said Mike Puckett, safety manager for Rumpke.

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