Picture courtesy of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service's twitter page @Nottsfire.

Firefighters from Worksop and Retford are continuing to tackle a fire at Worksop Recycling Centre, which broke out in the early hours of Sunday (23 February). It is the third fire to hit the site in just six months.

Fire crews were first called to Nottinghamshire Recycling Limited’s (NRL) recycling centre at Shireoaks Road in Worksop at 04:39 on Sunday morning, after a fire was detected in the single-storey barn used for storing recyclable materials (such as glass, paper, and plastic).

At the fire’s height, up to 50 firefighters used seven water jets and two portable pumps to try and control the flames. While the fire was within Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (NFRS) district, due to the scale of the blaze, firefighters from Derbyshire and South Yorkshire were also called in. In total, crews from 10 different fire stations attended the scene.

The Environment Agency was also called to attend the site and monitor the environmental and health impacts of the fire. People living nearby are being advised to keep doors and windows closed to guard against smoke inhalation.

One fire engine remains on site to dampen down materials.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but an investigation is underway.

Worksop Station Manager Dick Dawson said: “Our fire crews were faced with a severe fire in a building used for storing recycling material on the site and worked hard to bring it under control. This kind of fire is never straightforward as the fire is deep-seated in the product, and firefighters are currently working alongside staff from the recycling centre to dig out and break down the burning material in order to extinguish it in small pieces.

“This is a complicated and time-consuming process and it is likely that fire crews will be there some time to ensure the fire is out completely. However, I would like to reassure the people of Worksop that we are doing all we can to extinguish it as quickly as possible and get things back to normal at the centre and in the surrounding area.”

Arson suspected

A spokesperson for NRL told Resource that the fire department had brought the fire 'completely under control' but were yet to conclude its investigation into the cause. However, he said he thought the fire was caused by arson.

Stating that the fire started in a building that was 'not actually used by the company' (as it is still under construction), he said that there was 'less than 50 tonnes of recycled materials stored within the building which leads [NRL] to believe that this was an arson attack'.

He added that it was thought the culprits had entered the site from the rear of the property undetected by onsite security.

Tackling waste fires

This is the third fire to have broken out at the recycling centre in the past year. The largest blaze, which saw wood and household recyclables catch alight in August 2013, took more than a month to be completely extinguished.

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.

Further to the environmental and social damage that waste fires cause, the cost of clearing up such fires is extensive; the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has revealed that emergency services in Scotland spent £15.9 million tackling 8,000 waste fires in 2012/13.

The Environment Agency has released guidance aimed at reducing the outbreak of fire at waste storage sites. Prepared in partnership with the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), the new Technical Guidance Note (TGN) ‘Reducing Fire Risk at Sites Storing Combustible Materials’, identifies a range of measures that operators of waste storage sites should implement to minimise the risk of fire.

Read more about Nottinghamshire Recycling Ltd.