At least 75 firefighters worked to contain a blaze Thursday at a tire shredding facility on the county's south end.
The fire broke out shortly before 10 a.m. at Liberty Tire Services of Ohio, located at 3041 Jackson Pike, NBC 4 reported.
Workers said the power went out and then there was an explosion.
The plume of black smoke could be seen at least 10 miles away, NBC 4 's John Ivanic reported.
Columbus, Pleasant Township and Jackson Township fire crews were working to douse the flames.
Officials said low pressure from hydrants added to difficulty fighting the fire.
"Someone of them were being repaired, so they were shut off at the valve itself. So we had the water department immediately come out, boost the pressure in the area and also turn the hydrants that we hooked up, turned them back on. It probably didn't hurt it. It probably delayed some more water that we could throw on it. The structure itself was pretty well gone anyways, so we were just trying to protect the outer structure. We were in a defensive mode as soon as we got here," said Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Doug Smith.
Historically, tire fires burn intensely and for a long period of time. Fire crews routinely try to contain the flames from spreading while trying to let the fire burn out.
The Environmental Protection Agency was called to the scene to look into excessive water runoff, Ivanic reported.
No injuries were reported.
A fire broke out at the same facility last year, but it was not as serious as the one on Thursday, Ivanic reported.
Officials said the fire started in the roof and was ruled accidental. The cause is believed to have been electrical.
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