Haz-Mat teams called to Vernon salvage yard fire today

VERNON

A fire official says a township salvage yard where a fire broke out this morning and burned for hours was once the site where chemicals were illegally dumped.

Burghill-Vernon Fire Chief George Snyder said Countryside Salvage, 6542 Orangeville Kinsman Road, also had its permit pulled by the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office within the past couple of years, but he does not know why.

Crews were called to the yard at about 9:45 a.m. for a report of tires burning, but Snyder said the yard had more than tires ablaze.

“There’s all kinds of stuff in there,” he said.

Snyder said chemicals from out of state were illegally dumped in the 1990s, and at one time it was a federal Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site, but he is unsure of its status now.

Because of the past dumping, the state EPA was called and suggested hazardous materials teams be called in to ensure necessary precautions are being taken in case something hazardous did catch fire.

Read more about the blaze in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.