Some community members and local leaders say they are concerned about other tire piles in the community, which they think pose significant safety and environmental risks.
“There’s probably around half a dozen or so (tire stockpiles) that we have identified or we know about,” said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein. “We’re working with the Ohio EPA to get funding to help clean them up.”
Tire fire
On May 20, a property packed with stacks of scrap tires caught fire on the 1400 block of Leonhard Street in Old North Dayton.
The intense blaze damaged and destroyed nearby garages and accessory structures and pumped black smoke into the sky that was visible from miles away. Tire fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish, but Dayton firefighters had this one under control in about an hour.
The Dayton Fire Department said it’s unclear how many tires were on the property, since many were consumed by fire. The Ohio EPA said there were about 300 to 400 remaining when its staff visited the site days later.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Darryl Moore, who lives on Leonhard Street, said the tires were leftover from an auto shop he ran out of his garage. He said most tires were his but people also dumped tires on his property or in the alley.
Moore said he was in the process of trying to get the scrap tires removed when the fire broke out. The tires mainly were for heavy duty equipment and trucks.
Some people who live or own property on Leonhard Street told this newspaper they have complained for years about the tires and the conditions on that site.
The numbers
Although most of the 12 million scrap tires that are generated each year in Ohio are properly recycled and disposed of, some are unlawfully discarded and abandoned or end up in stockpiles that can create problems.
Scrap tires can be fire hazards and breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitos, which is why community members should report tire dumping to the Ohio EPA or the local health department, said Dina Pierce, a spokesperson for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ohio EPA removed more than 298,400 scrap tires from 219 sites in state fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023).
The state agency has removed about 150,000 scrap tires from 195 sites this fiscal year, with several more projects underway, Pierce said.
The Ohio EPA can help remove tires through its no-fault scrap tire cleanup program or the agency can take enforcement action against responsible parties, Pierce said. Sites eligible for the program usually must have 100 or more tires.
The mound of scrap tires on Leonhard Street in Old North Dayton is on property controlled by the city of Dayton and the cleanup will be through the no-fault remediation program, Pierce said. Rumpke will be in charge of the removal work, which will be paid for using state funds.
Dan Suffoletto, public information manager with Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County, said his agency did not receive any complaints from community members about the Leonhard Street property before it caught fire.
But he said Dayton’s housing department contacted public health in March seeking advice about Ohio EPA’s no-fault remediation program. Public health provided some information about the program.
Other problem properties
City Manager Dickstein said Dayton is working with the Ohio EPA to try to get funding and assistance to remove other tire piles elsewhere in the community. Old North Dayton residents say there’s a tire business in the neighborhood they are worried about.
Suffoletto said Public Health is actively engaged with the owners of four properties that contain scrap tires on Albrecht Avenue in Riverside, North Dixie Drive in Harrison Twp. and Leonhard Street and Bellefontaine Avenue in Dayton.
Three of the properties are private residences, while one is an auto sales business. Some owners have been given notices of violation.
The city says it does not have the authority to remove scrap tires from private property. Some Old North Dayton residents say they would like to see new laws passed to give the city new and better ways to intervene and address tire piles.
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