With the ongoing rise in use of motor vehicles, hundreds of millions of tires are discarded each year in the United States. Many are added to existing tire dumps or landfills, and a significant number are gathered for recycling. Stockpiles of scrap tires, whether in dumps or in recycling facilities, pose serious fire protection challenges to fire departments across the country. Tires burn with a higher per-pound heat output than most coal1, and the high heat production of tire rubber makes extinguishment very difficult. Tire fires yield large amounts of oil that are flammable and environmentally contaminating. Tire fires frequently become major hazardous materials incidents affecting entire communities, often requiring neighborhood evacuations and protracted fire operations. These fires threaten pollution of the air, waterways, and water table.