The tire fire occurred on a site operated as a salvage yard by Junior Trucking located at the 13300 block of Beacon Coal Mine Road in Skyway, Washington.
The site has two tire piles consisting of approximately 1000 to 2000 tires each. The north pile of tires had been cut in preparation for transport to recycling. The south pile of tires (not cut yet), is located at the southern end of a gravel road in an area carved out of the hillside, and was situated among ecology blocks, conex boxes, scrapped vehicles, and debris. Other materials and items observed in the burned tire pile and vicinity included: engines; propane, acetylene, and oxygen tanks and cylinders; plastic carboys containing a brown liquid; various electrical equipment items and some transformer plates; truck and house trailers; and pallets of auto batteries.
The King County Fire Investigator indicated that the fire was deliberately set and considered arson. Washington State Patrol (WSP) recently investigated the site finding several stolen vehicles and parts and regards the site as an illegal scrap yard. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Hazardous Waste program investigated Junior Trucking on 10 May 05 and found several waste management and storm drain issues.
Reportedly, Junior Trucking leases the property from Joe Anderson, who owns/operates several other companies on other areas of the property. Another tenant, Aqua-Brite, a paint sand-blasting company, is another tenant on the same parcel of land as Junior Trucking, storing equipment and materials at the south end of the site, behind a row of conex boxes located adjacent to the burned tire pile.
On May 12, 2005, EPA On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) Boykin was dispatched to the site and met up with the START responders at approximately 0745 hours. The OSC and START checked in with the Incident Commander from King County Fire District 20, received a briefing and conducted a site walk-through. Responding personnel from Ecology, WSP, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA), and King County enforcement personnel were on-scene and briefed also. The fire had been extinguished early morning of 5/12/05.
The OSC tasked the START to conduct reconnaissance activities downstream of the site to assess potential releases to the Duwamish River. Utilizing air monitoring instruments, the START conducted reconnaissance along a creek leading from the site to the creek's confluence with the Duwamish River. No visual sheen, product, odors, impact to wildlife, or detectable levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) above background were observed.
At 0840 hours, the property owner, Mr. Anderson arrived on site and conducted a site walk-through with responding personnel. Mr. Anderson indicated that all storm drains on site flow to a storm water system located at the north end of the site. The storm water system consists of two collection ponds and a bio-swale (ditch lined with vegetation) which runoff flows through until it empties into a junction box, flows underneath Beacon Coal Mine Road, and empties into an un-named creek that flows to the Duwamish River. A black oil/ash was observed floating on the water in both collection ponds and was also observed lining the pipe outfall (water level was below the outfall pipe) leading from the second collection pond to the bio-swale. No oil/ash was observed in the bio-swale because of the presence of dense vegetation. The Incident Commander estimated that approximately 500,000 gallons of water were used to fight the fire throughout the night. The amount of runoff and oil/ash that left the site and potentially migrated into the creek and ultimately into the Duwamish River is unknown. There are no known reports of oil, sheen, or ash like material noted for the Duwamish River during or after the fire.
The OSC tasked the START to collect water samples from three locations. The START collected water samples from the bio-swale discharge pipe in the junction box, just prior to flowing off site; from one of the on-site collection ponds; and from a storm drain, nearest to the fire location, approximately 15 yards to the northwest of the fire. A strong sheen and black ash/water were observed at the storm drain during sample collection and was attributed to cleanup activities underway to gain access to the middle of the tire pile. The water samples were submitted to an analytical laboratory for the following analyses: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's), metals, semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC's), volatile organic compounds (VOC's), and Hydrocarbon ID (HCID). Ecology Assistant On-Scene Coordinator Dick Walker collected a water sample from one of the on-site collection ponds for laboratory analyses.
Mr. Anderson brought in some of his personnel and began cleanup activities. A trackhoe was utilized to move debris, some charred conex boxes, and other materials from in front of the tire pile so that the King County Fire Investigator could finish his investigation. Approximately 10 charred compressed gas cylinders were extracted from the fire area and moved to a more secure location. Once the fire investigation was concluded, the trackhoe was used to move the tire pile in order to gain access to the center and verify that all potential hazardous and dangerous materials had been removed.
During the site walk-through, several areas of concern were documented. A pallet of small containers of paints and solvents were noted near the gravel road entrance to Junior Trucking. Mr. Anderson indicated that these materials were recovered from Beacon Coal Mine Road, possibly the result of a midnight dump activity, and he was arranging for proper disposal. Three more areas of concern were noted at the south end of the site, reportedly under control of the Aqua-Brite tenant. A 15-foot long oil-stained soil area was noted at the most southern end; a paint- stained soil area was noted running from an open-air paint container storage area to a nearby storm drain; and, the presence of numerous super-sacks of what appears to be expended sand-blast material in several locations around the yard. When the owner of Aqua-Brite arrived on site, OSC Boykin discussed the areas of concern and requested permission to collect samples. Permission to collect samples was refused and the OSC observed the Aqua Brite owner and two employees performing site cleanup activities.
OSC Boykin reviewed planned cleanup activities, for the next day and a half, with the property owner. Mr. Anderson indicated that all of the following cleanup activities would be conducted in consultation with Ecology personnel.
Quick turnaround analyses for PCBs and HCID were performed on the 3 water samples and preliminary results received on Friday, May 13, 2005 indicated the presence of gasoline range organics at levels of 48, 870, and 940 micrograms/liter in the junction box, first collection pond, and storm drain near to fire, respectively. PCBs were undetected.
The property owner has indicated that the following cleanup activities will be conducted:
1. Make arrangements with the gas cylinder company or a sub-contractor to assess and handle fire-damaged cylinders.
2. Stage tire pile for cutting and transportation for recycling.
3. Collect and stage other hazardous materials/wastes for appropriate disposal.
4. Arrange for vacuum truck to remove water and oil/ash from 2 collection ponds and all on-site storm drains.
5. Assess and remove soil contamination resulting from fire.
The property owner will continue to coordinate cleanup activities with Ecology personnel.
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