Image courtesy of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service

Six fire engines are still attending a fire at a large, 'illegal' woodpile in Mountnessing, Essex, which has been alight since Monday (18 August).

The woodpile on Thoby Lane contains about 5,000 tonnes of wood, and covers an area of 50 metres (m) by 30m and is 15m tall.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has said that the fire is situated “in a large pile consisting mainly of disused timber” and that it is “working hard to contain the fire” as the site is surrounded by other industrial sites including scrap yards and agricultural equipment facilities.

‘Wood deposited illegally’

The Environment Agency (EA) had visited the site before the fire to gather evidence and put a fire risk assessment plan in place, but added that some of the wood had been deposited 'illegally'.

A spokesman for the EA said: “We are in the process of taking enforcement action to clear the site. The site operator has been warned not to accept any more waste on the site as it has been deposited illegally.

“We have informed the landowner of the illegal activity and his responsibilities. We have also contacted all known suppliers to warn them not to deliver waste to the site. We understand the frustration of local residents and we will continue our action against the operator.”

Nearby Roman Road has been closed intermittently to allow fire crews access to water supplies. It is expected that the fire will continue in a ‘controlled burn’ for the next few days.

On Twitter, Essex Fire Service has been advising local residents to close their windows if the smoke has affected them.

Divisional Officer Mark Earwicker, the fire officer in charge, added: “We are using water from a nearby boating lake which we are topping up with water bowsers. By using this supply we can avoid closing the road to get water from the nearest hydrant, but there is still a possibility that we will have to close the road intermittently to establish water supplies.

“Now the fire has broken through and more of the pile is alight so there is a larger smoke plume. It’s nothing terribly dangerous but local residents are advised to close their windows and doors.

“The controlled burn is expected to last a few days, crews will remain on the site throughout.”

Tackling waste fires

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

To reduce the outbreak of fire at waste storage sites, the Environment Agency (EA) has previously released guidance that identifies a range of measures that operators of waste storage sites should implement to minimise the risk of fire. However, Mark Tansey of fire detection supplier FireVu recently told Resource that the guidance neglects to mention fire detection and prevention technology, which he says is an ‘essential step’ to stalling and extinguishing fires.

More recently the WISH (Waste Industry Safety and Health) Forum produced draft fire control guidance– currently undergoing consultation – which seeks to supersede the current EA guidance.

Read more about the frequency of waste fires.