A fire broke out at an Inverness waste transfer station, run by SUEZ environnement (formerly SITA UK), last night (26 May), after a ‘pressurised canister’ caught alight.

Fire crews were called to the Longman Industrial Estate at Henderson Drive at about 6p.m. last night after receiving reports of a fire.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent four appliances to deal with the incident, which was thought to involve around 150 tonnes of household waste.

A digger was used to tackle the blaze, which was brought under control by midnight.

There were no reports of injuries or damage to the transfer station.

A SUEZ environnement spokesperson said that the ‘small fire’ was thought to have started after a ‘pressurised canister’ caught fire.

He added that the fire service had advised nearby residents to close doors and windows as a ‘precaution’, but that there was no hazardous waste involved in the blaze.

SUEZ environnement said that the site is now open, and running ‘business as usual’.

Increasing amount of waste site fires

The incident marks the latest outbreak of fire at waste sites in recent days, following on from a ‘large fire’ at a biomass facility in North Wales earlier this month.

In an attempt to prevent fires from occurring, the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum issued new guidance last year 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 problems of waste site fires.