On May 26th, 2009 at 00:47 hours, the Hawkins VFD and Hawkins Fire Marshalls Office responded to a tire fire at Foster & Son Scrap Tire Processor in Hawkins, Texas. A stockpile of approximately 100,000 tires burned to create a fire over an area of roughly 300 x 500 feet. The scene of the fire was a 5 acre area where Foster & Son staged an estimated 700,000 tires. The cause of the fire was undetermined at the time of initial action. Initial responders sucessfully contained the fire by moving staged tires to create a 200 foot open area buffer around the burning area.
The NRC activated EPA Region 6 Prevention and Response Branch at 0252 hours on May 26th, 2009. TCEQ, EPA, and the agencies' respective contractors arrived on scene between 0600 1000 hours. The Town of Hawkins issued a mandatory evacuation for all residents. Northwesterly winds at 8-10 mph allowed the smoke plume to rise several hundred feet before breaching the subject property perimeter. The plume was visible from roughly ten miles away between 0600 and 1100 hours. TCEQ, EPA, and Hawkins VFD entered into unified command at 0900.
Unified Commander Fire Marshall John Jones held an incident situational meeting at 0930 on 5/26/09.
Fire Monitoring: 24/7 monitoring of the fire by Hawkins and surrounding communitiy VFDs and County and State Fire Marshalls' Offices.
Initial Air Monitoring: EPA and contractors conducting continuous air monitoring and data logging at established stations around the incident perimeter. R6 MCP currently on scence and serving as ICP. Plume models for multiple weather scenarios have been established. Eagle on scene. Initiating fire supression activities for TCEQ: Mobilizing contractor Eagle for fire supression. Local Eagle reps from Tyler on scene by 0930 hours.
TCEQ contractor Eagle sceduled to extinguish fire with separation and water suppression.
EPA preparing to establish multiple air monitoring and air sampling locations in order to determine the plume extent and its potential impact to residents in the area.
Air Monitoring for local residents, especially those affected by the plume. Weather conditions and changing winds monitored closely. Continued containment of the fire. Suppression of the fire.
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