Firefighters from several departments spent Sunday wrestling with a large, stubborn mulch fire at a mulching facility near Mounts Park in Morrow, Ohio, drawing water from the park’s lakes as thick smoke rolled over the area. Hamilton Township Fire Rescue called the blaze “very stubborn” and publicly thanked mutual-aid partners that joined the response.
WKRC’s Local 12 covered the incident and reported that the fire broke out at a mulching facility on Stubbs Mills Road near Mounts Park, where fire crews worked with company personnel to fight the flames. According to Local 12, photos from the scene showed firefighters hauling hose lines while heavy smoke hung over the park, and the station later updated its story after the department posted about the fire on Facebook.
How crews attacked the blaze
In a Facebook update, Hamilton Township Fire Rescue (Warren County) said firefighters tackled the “very stubborn” mulch fire while working “alongside company employees” to knock down burning piles. The department added, “We thank our mutual aid departments, Union Township and Salem/Morrow, for their assistance as well as Hamilton Twp PD and Warren County Communications.” Photos posted with the update show fire engines and crews set up near the park’s ponds, with firefighters stretching hose lines toward the mulch piles.
Why mulch fires can be so persistent
Mulch and compost piles can trap heat as organic material breaks down, creating slow-burning hotspots that resist surface water and can flare back up. Coverage of a previous commercial mulch fire by KSL noted that firefighters there needed both hose lines and heavy equipment to tear into the piles and expose hidden heat before the blaze was fully out. That behavior helps explain why crews near Morrow drew water from park ponds and focused directly on the mulch piles instead of simply spraying from a distance.
Photographs featured in the Local 12 coverage show thick plumes of smoke and firefighters working along the edges of mulch piles on Stubbs Mills Road. The Local 12 photo gallery includes seven images of the response, including crews drafting water from the park’s lakes. Hamilton Township Fire Rescue’s initial Facebook post did not identify a cause for the fire.
