300,000 tires on fire in gravel pit in S. Jersey

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A fire burned yesterday through a gravel pit containing about 300,000 tires.

The fire at the Griner tire facility in Cumberland County was reported around 10:15 p.m. Saturday and continued into yesterday morning, officials said. Township spokesman Anthony Buono said more than 55 firefighting units responded to the scene. Buono said a steady rainfall had helped douse the fire.

Personnel from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were there to monitor air quality, Buono said.

According to an article earlier this month in the Bridgeton News, the township told the owner of the facility last summer to clean up the site and said the facility, which was temporarily closed, could be shuttered permanently if it wasn't cleaned up. Buono did not know whether the business was in operation when the fire started.

- AP