Around 75 firefighters from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue Service are tackling a fire involving 4,000 bales of mixed household waste and shredded carpets at MID UK Recycling’s Ancaster waste site.

Twelve fire appliances and several water pumps and carriers were sent to MID UK Recycling’s Barkston Heath warehousing complex on Ermine Street in Ancaster, Lincolnshire, this morning (7 July), after the fire service received reports of a blaze at around 2am.

On arrival, firefighters found approximately 4,000 bales of mixed household waste and shredded carpets ‘well alight’ and have been working throughout the day to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.

Police closed the High Dike Ancaster crossroads to the southbound junction with the A52, and relayed messages to local residents via tannoy advising that all doors and windows remain closed to prevent smoke inhalation.

It is expected that fire crews will remain on site for the next few days.

Stuart Ruff, area manager for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, stated: “This is a reasonably large incident and all agencies have worked tremendously hard since the early hours of this morning.

“It was initially a very fierce fire but as we took immediate action we were able to bring it under control.

“We will now continue to extinguish the small pockets of fire that continue, and relief crews have taken over from firefighters that were here at 2am.

“There remains a plume of smoke which is constantly being monitored. We have assessed this as being a low risk, but we do advise all local residents to keep their windows and doors shut until further notice.”

He added that the cause of the fire is not yet known and is under investigation. There were no reported injuries.

Resource has contacted MID UK Recycling for a comment on the fire, but has not yet received a response.

Due to the fire, several roads have been closed and traffic has been diverted to allow emergency vehicle access. Details of the closure can be found on Lincolnshire County Council’s website.

This is the second fire to hit the warehouse in just over two years, following a similar fire in February 2013.

Waste site fires commonplace

Fires at waste sites are commonplace, with figures released in 2013 showing that between 2001 and 2012, the average rate of fires at waste and recycling works came in at just under one per day.

In an attempt to prevent fires from occurring, the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum has issued new guidance to help waste site operators reduce fire risk.

Endorsed by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA), and developed with input from the Environment Agency (EA), the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Health and Safety Laboratories (HSL), and other bodies, the guidance outlines how best to safely manage the storage of materials susceptible to combustion.

The Operations Director of the CFOA, Roy Wilsher, said that the guidance was “hugely useful”.

Find out more about the waste fire guidance or how to reduce the risk of fire at waste management sites.