Hagersville Tire Fire information

The Hagersville Tire Fire, sparked on 12 February 1990, was a major tire fire that began at a tire recycling facility near Hagersville, Ontario. The fire started at the Tyre King Tire Recycling facility, a facility already under scrutiny by the Province of Ontario as an environmental hazard at the time. Firefighters from twenty-four different fire departments spent seventeen days fighting the fire, which eventually consumed fourteen million tires and burned the equivalent of eighteen football fields. A major media event at the time, the fire was covered by a wide variety of Canadian and American media operations. The blaze cost $15–25 million dollars for the province to put out, displaced up to 4,000 residents, and produced a significant amount of toxic smoke and ash.^[1] Investigators later determined that the fire was likely caused by five arsonists, one of whom pleaded guilty and testified against the other four, who were charged with mischief and sentenced to prison times between one month and four months. The fire was officially put out on 1 March 1990.

Residents, firefighters, and the broader environment all sustained potentially significant health effects and damages as a result of residue and the inhalation of ash. Notable consequences of the fire include emotional and medical damages to residents, economic damage in the form of lost revenues for food vendors, and the proliferation of oily runoff as a result of firefighting efforts. Reporting surrounding the event provided a catalyst for the Province of Ontario and other Canadian jurisdictions to update their regulations for tire management and storage.^[2]