Large commercial fire in Osolo Township

OSOLO, Ind., -- A call came in to Osolo Township Fire Department at around 11:04 pm Sunday night concerning burning tires outside of a building on the 53000 block of County Road 9 in Elkhart County.

ABC57 spoke with the incident commander, Randy Stone, and David Cushwa, the division chief of operations at the Elkhart Fire Department, who was on the scene until 1 am.

As crews were approaching the scene, the fire spread to the building. 

According to officials, flames came out through doors and through the roof. Crews battled it from both the north and south directions. The fire was contained to the building, DMTJ tires, a tire store and repair shop, within three hours. While crews were battling the flames, there were multiple collapses in the building. 

The incident officer says that there were thousands of burning tires on the scene. Officials are in contact with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency about air quality and groundwater safety. Air quality is being monitored in residential area. 

There were many stubborn hotspots that kept the scene active for hours, and crews are still active as of 8:25am. CO Road 9 is open in both directions.  

Osolo Township was assisted by the townships of Porter (MI), Cleveland and Bristol, and the Elkhart FD, EMS, and Elkhart Sheriff's office. 

No injuries were reported.