The Springfield Tire Fire was established in 1989, the same year the series premiered on television.
The episode ends with a cover of The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" playing into the credits. The very next episode is called Monty Can't Buy Me Love (1999).
The plot was based on a "disastrous" school program, in which students had to participate in community service in order to be allowed to advance to the next grade. Julie Thacker-Scully, whose oldest daughter was a student at the school, was signed up to do community service at an old folks home in the town they lived in. It became the inspiration for the episode's A-story
When Chief Wiggum is escorting the mice out of town, he calls one of them Rizzo. Rizzo the Rat is a famous Muppet character, and the Great Gonzo's best friend and cohort.
Burns's yacht is named "Gone Fission II".