Fire in a Tire Recycling Facility (Nebraska City, Nebraska - January 23 to February 3, 2001) » Overview

The members of the Nebraska City Fire Department were dispatched to a reported chimney fire at a housing complex for the elderly at 02:54 hours on the morning of Wednesday January 23, 2002. The first engine company to arrive on the scene discovered that the fire was actually located a few blocks away at the EnTire Recycling Center. The facility chips up old tires and produces a raw product that is used to manufacture synthetic athletic turf and playground surfaces.

Firefighters discovered a working fire at the facility that had spread to one of the production buildings as well as to the raw product in several of the silos at the site. The complex had formerly been used as a grain facility and product was stored in varying amounts in five metal silos originally constructed to store grain. Most of the fire was extinguished, but the fires in the silos were allowed to continue to burn because of poor visibility and the potential for collapse. Mutual aid was immediately summoned to assist in the extinguishment effort.

Cooling water was directed on the silos and liquid nitrogen was used in an attempt to smother the fire. An explosion occurred during the afternoon of the first day and injured thirteen firefighters. Four of the firefighters sustained injuries serious enough to require hospitalization. Fears of a subsequent explosion and a continuing possibility of collapse resulted in the firefighters adopting a defensive mode of operations.

The fire was not fully extinguished until February 3, 2002 and required the efforts of emergency responders from over thirty fire and EMS agencies. Final extinguishment was accomplished by Williams Fire and Hazard Control, a private contractor renowned for the extinguishment of oil well and flammable liquid tanks fires. The firm was hired by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The fire posed a significant environmental threat due its proximity to the Missouri River and the toxic byproducts of the burning tires. State and Federal environmental officials monitored the extinguishment effort throughout the incident. During the incident, portions of the community had to be evacuated on two occasions due to a potential for additional explosions and the toxicity of the smoke.

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