Significant fires were reported at locations across the U.S. over the holidays.
In Newark, N.J., local news reports say that three firefighters were injured – two critically – while fighting the flames at the Velez Tire Shop. It took crews more than two hours to get the blaze under control, but not before part of the building collapsed. Arson detectives have yet to determine the exact cause, but local reports describe a small explosion fed by a broken gas pipe.
On Christmas Eve, fire broke out at a Tire Express location in Queens Village, N.Y. According to local reports, the FDNY sent 12 fire trucks and 60 firefighters to battle the early-morning one-alarm blaze. Two people were treated at local hospitals with minor injuries. The tire store sits below an apartment unit in a mixed-use building, causing significant damage to the residence also. Cause of the fire has not yet been released.
In Timmonsville, S.C., fire broke out New Years Eve at Oh Joe’s Used Tires and Car Wash. Flames quickly engulfed the building. Fortunately, no one was in the building. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
On Saturday night on the border of Utah and Arizona, an industrial yard filled with tires ignited, sending massive flames and billowing smoke into the evening sky. The fire’s origin is “suspicious” according to local reports. Instead of extinguishing the blaze, the firefighters prevented its spread and allowed it to smolder throughout the holiday weekend.
