Large Dayton tire fire prompts city legal review; residents push for crackdown
May 22—A large tire fire in Old North Dayton this week has sparked calls for state action or new laws to try to prevent people from stockpiling scrap tires.
More than 12 million scrap tires are generated in Ohio every year, and some end up in stockpiles or illegal dumps around the state, says the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Scrap tires that catch on fire can create dangerous blazes that are difficult to extinguish and that produce toxic smoke and oils, the Ohio EPA says.
Matt Tepper, president of the Old North Dayton Neighborhood Association, has asked the city complete a review of what went wrong that led to the tire fire and what could be done in the future to prevent similar issues in all parts of the city.
"Much of the circumstances around the fire could have been prevented," he said.
Local residents say there are other tire piles in their neighborhood that are a problem that could put lives and property at risk.
On Monday afternoon, fire crews responded to the 1400 block of Leonhard Street in Old North Dayton on a report of a tire fire.
The blaze produced a huge plume of black smoke visible for miles and damaged multiple nearby properties.
Jennifer Evans, an Old North Dayton resident who used to be the co-owner of Evans Bakery, said the city and the neighborhood have been aware of the tire pile on Leonhard Street for a very long time.
She said there are other tire piles in Old North Dayton, including at a commercial property that has countless tires.
"Something needs to happen to get rid of these tires," she said. "There needs to be some consolidated way to report these issues and to have them addressed."
Evans said Ohio EPA helped clean up the scrap tires after the fire. She said she doesn't understand why the agency didn't take action to remove the tires before the blaze.
Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein said tire piles are a source of blight that pose a significant risk to the community, the environment and first-responders.
Dickstein said she's already asked city staff to review the incident on Leonhard Street.
She also wants a legal analysis and directed staff to produce an inventory of similar kinds of tire piles across the city.
The city has been aware of this tire pile since June of 2021, and the property owner has been cited and contacted by staff numerous times to try to get the tires properly disposed of, Dickstein said.
But the city does not have the authority to venture onto private property and seize personal property, she said.
"Only some of our state stakeholders ... have the ability to do that," she said.
A legal analysis is important to figure out if the way to address this problem is through new state laws or by getting state agencies to intervene, she said.
