Indianapolis Firefighters Contain Tire Fire at OmniSource Facility

INDIANAPOLIS — A fire broke out at a recycling facility south of downtown Indianapolis Monday evening.

Firefighters arrived at OmniSource on South West Street just before 4:00 to find a pile of tires on fire, with heavy black smoke visible from downtown.

“It was a pile of tires inside the facility set in an area away from any buildings,” Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Rita Reith said. “There was no extension into anything.”

Reith says firefighters had the fire put out in about 25 minutes.

“Anytime you have a pile of scrap or tires, you have to bring in additional equipment,” Reith said.

That’s exactly what firefighters did in this case. Reith says crews brought a crane so that they can separate the pile, so they could put water onto the material that is underneath the bottom of the pile. With that, the fire was put out pretty quickly.

“The thick black smoke was due to the material, which was tires, made of rubber, tar, and whatever chemicals used to make a tire,” Reith said. “That typically produces a large volume of black smoke no matter where it is or how big the pile is.”

Reith says no injuries were reported.

Indianapolis Firefighters Contain Tire Fire at OmniSource Facility  was originally published on wibc.com