Residents who receive notification have four options, McLaughlin said: They can file a claim for a portion of the settlement; they can ask to be excluded from the settlement; they can object; or they can do nothing.

To object to the settlement, residents need to reply as such to the notification then attend the final hearing for the suit, which is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Those who ask to be excluded are not bound by the conditions of the settlement and can file their own lawsuit for damages caused by the fire.

"If they do nothing they will be bound by the settlement but will not receive anything," McLaughlin said.

When bound by the settlement, residents will not be eligible to file a suit for property damage in relation to the fire, he said. 

Lawyers for U.S. Tire Recovery and Chemvalley agreed to the settlement with no objections on Tuesday.

Authorities estimated more than 40,000 tires burned in the fire, which state investigators determined was set deliberately. No one has been arrested for setting the fire.

Ricky Handley, who prosecutors describe as a managing partner of the Nitro tire company, pleaded guilty in July to illegally accumulating more than 1,000 tires that fed the fire.

Handley's business bought used tires in bulk and separated out the tires that could be resold. The unusable waste tires were stacked in the warehouse.

As part of a plea deal, Kanawha County prosecutors will recommend probation for Handley. He faces one to five years in prison when sentenced by Judge Tod Kaufman this month.

"It's funny," Angel said. "You're on a fixed income, then something like this happens. I think [Handley] should go around and clean everybody's' house."

A Web site about the settlement - www.nitrofiresettlement

.com - is being prepared to give residents more information.

Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com or 348-5113.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Every St. Albans and Nitro area household forced to shelter in place during a massive 2006 tire fire is eligible for up to $291 in damages. 

Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib approved a preliminary settlement on Tuesday in a class action lawsuit brought against U.S. Tire Recovery.

The settlement agreement will award money to each household affected by the fire at the U.S. Tire Recovery warehouse in Nitro.

But the woman who filed the suit is not happy with the results.

"It's not going to replace what I had to throw out," Marietta Angel said. "I'm still mopping up soot, and when it rains [soot] still comes up."

Angel filed the lawsuit against U.S. Tire Recovery and Chemvalley in 2006 following the smoky fire that burned for almost 24 hours and summoned more than 150 firefighters from 32 companies.

She estimated the soot and smoke from the fire cost a minimum of $1,000 in damages to her Nitro home.

As part of the settlement, U.S. Tire Recovery and Chemvalley Properties will pay $1.175 million to a trust that will be distributed to residents and business owners in the Nitro and St. Albans area that were put under a shelter-in-place during the fire.

Each household is eligible to receive $14 to $15 for each hour they were under shelter, said Alex McLaughlin, counsel for Angel and area residents.

McLaughlin, of the Calwell Practice, said about 6,000 residents of Nitro and St. Albans are eligible to funds from the settlement. Compensation is also open to those who have moved since the fire.

Residents could receive anywhere from $68 to $291 depending on how long they were put under shelter, McLaughlin said. Nitro was under shelter for about 19 hours and St. Albans for about five hours, he said.

After distribution of the funds, any remaining money will be donated to the St. Albans and Nitro fire departments, he said.

The settlement does not cover personal injury or medical conditions related to the fire, McLaughlin said. The suit covers only property damage, and the "annoyance and inconvenience" of being placed under shelter, he said.

Eligible residents should receive notification of the settlement in the mail within 30 days.

Residents who receive notification have four options, McLaughlin said: They can file a claim for a portion of the settlement; they can ask to be excluded from the settlement; they can object; or they can do nothing.

To object to the settlement, residents need to reply as such to the notification then attend the final hearing for the suit, which is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Those who ask to be excluded are not bound by the conditions of the settlement and can file their own lawsuit for damages caused by the fire.

"If they do nothing they will be bound by the settlement but will not receive anything," McLaughlin said.

When bound by the settlement, residents will not be eligible to file a suit for property damage in relation to the fire, he said. 

Lawyers for U.S. Tire Recovery and Chemvalley agreed to the settlement with no objections on Tuesday.

Authorities estimated more than 40,000 tires burned in the fire, which state investigators determined was set deliberately. No one has been arrested for setting the fire.

Ricky Handley, who prosecutors describe as a managing partner of the Nitro tire company, pleaded guilty in July to illegally accumulating more than 1,000 tires that fed the fire.

Handley's business bought used tires in bulk and separated out the tires that could be resold. The unusable waste tires were stacked in the warehouse.

As part of a plea deal, Kanawha County prosecutors will recommend probation for Handley. He faces one to five years in prison when sentenced by Judge Tod Kaufman this month.

"It's funny," Angel said. "You're on a fixed income, then something like this happens. I think [Handley] should go around and clean everybody's' house."

A Web site about the settlement - www.nitrofiresettlement

.com - is being prepared to give residents more information.

Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com or 348-5113.