Up to 60 firefighters have tackled a ‘large blaze’ at Transwaste’s waste transfer in Melton, East Yorkshire.
The fire broke out at the facility, which handles around 300,000 tonnes of waste a year at Melton Business Park, at about 7am on Sunday morning (28 September), when the site was still closed.
Firefighters said the blaze, though large, had been confined to one building at the plant containing general waste. However, the smoke plume could be seen over much of East Yorkshire.
On Sunday, Jason Kirby, Group Manager for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We don't anticipate that there's anything really hazardous in the large smoke plume." Despite this, he advised nearby residents to keep doors and windows shut while the blaze was brought under control.
We're advising residents in the surrounding villages to close windows and doors due to the large volume of smoke at the #MeltonFire
— HumbersideFire (@HumbersideFire) September 28, 2014
There were no reported injuries caused by the fire, which has now been brought under control.
An investigation into the cause of the fire will be launched imminently.
This morning (30 September), Transwaste issued the following statement: “Following the fire at the weekend and the subsequent hard work by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service along with Transwaste staff, the Melton site is now fully operational again.
“We would like to thank everyone involved in the operation for their professionalism and diligence in getting the plant back up to full capacity so quickly, and we look forward to welcoming customers both old and new.”
Waste site fires commonplace
Fires at waste sites 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. Indeed, firefighters were called to tackle a ‘huge fire’ at a disused industrial site in Sheffield earlier this month to extinguish to several thousand tonnes of plastic material.
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 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.
Find out more about Transwaste.
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