Tire blaze forces 80 from their Ohio homes

A fire at a tire-recycling company Saturday evening forced the evacuation of several dozen neighbors and created a plume of thick, black smoke visible from downtown Akron, south to Fawcett Stadium in Canton and west to Norton.

Though no one was hurt, crews from eight fire departments worked to contain the blaze at Puritan Systems Inc., 1161 Holiday Drive, and keep it from getting to tanks of liquid nitrogen.

As a precaution, about 80 residents of condominiums just north of the building were evacuated, Brimfield Police Chief David Blough said.

”We just don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” he said. ”The best way to do that is to keep people away.”

The fire was reported before 7:15 p.m. at the building just north of Interstate 76 and west of state Route 43.

Two hours later, firefighters said it was contained, even as a glow from flames was still visible inside and three trucks continued to pour water into the roof.

Blough said tanker trucks had to bring the water in, as the area doesn’t have hydrants.

On its Web site, Puritan Systems describes itself is ”a cryogenic grinder of rubber and plastics,” grinding crumb rubber from scrap tires for recycled use.

The cryogenic grinding process uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the material, reducing heat generated during grinding. The nitrogen is stored in pressurized tanks that could explode if heated.

Fire crews from Brimfield, Suffield, Edinburg and Rootstown townships and Streetsboro, Ravenna, Kent and Tallmadge assisted, Blough said.

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