New Details in Stubborn Tire Shop Fire
posted 9:43 am Wed January 23, 2008 - Washington
D.C. Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin tells the Washington Post that investigators believe the fire could be related to construction to repair a wall. The wall collapsed recently while an underground oil tank was being removed, causing oil to spill into the soil. The fire broke out Monday but continued to smolder through Tuesday.
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Firefighters continued to spray the blaze with foam on Tuesday. Officials say when they stopped spraying, the fire would begin to flare up again. The fire broke out again overnight Monday into Tuesday, with flames visible in the upper reaches. The blaze sent a black plume of smoke over the city on Tuesday. Fire crews from Fairfax County, Reagan National Airport and Andrews Air Force base were brought in to resupply D.C. firefighters with foam.
Firefighters say the unstable blaze has been fueled by the 20,000 to 30,000 tires in the warehouse.
A handful of homes were evacuated and emergency officials were concerned with air quality. Officials are monitoring the air quality in the area; they say it is not dangerous. If air monitors show something harmful, employees will alert nearby homes and businesses.
D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter has said the cleanup at Jimmy's Tire Shop will take several weeks. There are thousands of gallons of contaminated water and foam in the building, and the structure is unstable. Much of the estimated 1-3 million gallons of contaminated water runoff from the fire entered the storm sewer system. Water treatment officials say the water is being pre-treated before it reaches the Blue Plains treatment plant.
Authorities say 800,000-1,000,000 gallons of contaminated water remains on the scene. Officials say the water will be pre-treated before it is pumped out.
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