The Hillsville Volunteer Fire Department stayed busy during a 16-hour period spanning April 6 and 7, responding to three local fires.

The last of the three fires, a huge pile of tires at 3960 Poplar Camp Road, is under investigation by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Before leaving the scene of a vehicle fire on Park Street in Hillsville, the HVFD was called to the tire fire, which left massive clouds of black smoke visible from several miles away.

According to HVFD member David Young, Hillsville Fire Chief Donnie Spangler called for assistance from Cana, Barren Springs and Galax Fire Departments after seeing the size of the fire.

“Lines were (laid) from the road to the back of the house and garage about 300 yards away. The Virginia State Police and Carroll County Sheriff departments controlled the traffic as the fire was being fought,” Young said. “The HVFD and responding units fought the fire with foam and were able to put the approximate count of 200 to 300 truck and car tires under control.”

After the fire was extinguished, Carroll County Emergency Services Coordinator Joe Roma and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management investigated the scene before seeking the assistance of DEQ.

“We turned it over to DEQ for investigation because of the tires and because of the hazards it caused us,” Roma said. “DEQ will make (the owner) clean it up and if they don’t I am sure they will press charges. It’s pretty much in their hands now.”

Judy Osbourne, a prep coordinator with DEQ, said she visited the site Thursday and worked with the operator on how to clean the site up.

“He was in that process and he was going to have the remaining tires shredded. The wire that was left, he said he was going to recycle and then dispose of the ashes,” Osborne said. “We will do a follow-up of the cleanup.”

Osborne said DEQ will also assess the situation to see if a permit was needed for the tires.

“We were only there to see if a permit was needed and to oversee cleanup of the disposal of tires and to make sure they were meeting regulations on the storage of tires, but we don’t have the authority to enforce it,” Osborne said. “The runoff from the fire did not impact the stream (nearby). There was substantial runoff from the fire but there was no environmental impact in the stream. The man took off work the next day and he was real cooperative with me.”

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Prior to the tire fire, the HVFD responded to a vehicle fire at 424 Park Street in Hillsville on April 7. According to Young, members of the Hillsville Police Department tried to knock down the fire with two extinguishers, but the fire was already out of control.

“Garrett Baldwin, owner of the 1986 Ford Ranger, said that he had left it running in the driveway when it caught fire,” Young said. “The HVFD was able to knock it down quickly before it damaged the house next it.”

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At approximately 11:30 p.m. on April 6, the HVFD responded to a structure fire at 1501 Whitetown Road in Hillsville. Chief Spangler immediately rerouted trucks to the scene and asked Barren Springs Volunteer Fire Department for assistance.

“Dispatch informed the chief that the structure was a single-wide trailer that was located next to a double wide. When the first unit arrived there was very heavy smoke coming out of the home,” Young said. “The firefighters fought through the front and side doors to knock down the fire, then went outside to remove the underpinning of the trailer to finish knocking down the fire.”

Young said the cause of the fire was unknown, but the family told him the trailer was being used for storage and had experienced electrical problems in the past. No one was hurt, but the home sustained heavy smoke and water damage, Young said.