Houston firefighters on Tuesday continued to try to douse a large pile of burning tires in the East End that had sent up a pillar of black smoke the day before.
While the fire was contained, officials warned people in the area to take health precautions as they monitored the air quality around the fire site. As that work continued, questions began to turn to who, if anyone, was responsible for the blaze. The Houston Fire Department said arson investigators were looking into the cause of the fire in a Tuesday morning statement. As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges had been filed.
So far, no one from the business connected to the property, Mammoth Metal Recycling, has made any public statements about its cause or responded to a request for comment. Houston TV station KPRC on Monday reported that the company had been cited twice in recent weeks for illegal burning. The fire department said that it was reviewing the property’s inspection history and code enforcement violations as part of its arson investigation…