LAWRENCE TWP (Tusco TV) - Bolivar’s fire chief says they’re not sure what caused a large pile of scrap material to catch fire Sunday afternoon at a local salvage yard.

Shawn Lynch says the department responded to Speedie Auto Salvage on Eberhart Road NW at around 2:30 pm for what was originally reported as a possible auto fire. He says they arrived and found a smoldering scrap pile instead.

"When the guys got on scene, they actually found it was a large scrap pile of mixed materials that was on fire. There was no auto fire nor was there any heavy equipment that was involved," he says.

Lynch says firefighters from nine stations across northern Tuscarawas County assisted with the effort that also involved a large excavator and tankers hauling in about a hundred thousand gallons of water. He says the sun may have caused the material in the pile to heat up and catch on fire.

"We did an investigation on it and talked with the owner of the facility, and there was no cutting or work going on in that area for the past couple days. There’s no electricity or anything in that area, so we’re assuming it was spontaneous combustion of materials that were in the pile," he says.

Lynch says the only thing of value in the pile was the metal, which is still salvageable. 

TUSCO TV