An exercise will be held at a Lincolnshire recycling centre tomorrow (Thursday, 19 November) to test the response from emergency services and public-sector organisations to fires at waste sites.
Between 10am and 3pm, a mock fire will be staged at MID UK Recycling Ltd’s Caythorpe materials recovery facility (MRF) to test the response and processes of a number of organisations.
The groups taking part in the exercise are Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, Lincolnshire Emergency Planning, Lincolnshire Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service, local authorities, parish councils, the Environment Agency and public health agencies.
The exercise will examine how the services work together to respond to not just the fire itself, but also the potential effects of the fire to the surrounding area and communities. It will also inform prevention plans to stop future fires at waste sites from occurring.
Another MID UK site in Ancaster, near Grantham, was the scene of a fire in July that engulfed around 100 square metres of stacked baled waste and carpets. The plume of smoke from the fire affected nearby homes and 22-mile diversions were caused by road closures.
Exercises ensure that ‘comprehensive, robust and reliable plans’ are in place
Sean Taylor, Divisional Commander at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, commented: “We’ve had a number of incidents at recycling centres over the past couple of years, most recently a severe fire in July this year, which caused significant issues and disruption for the local community. We need to learn from these events to ensure we have comprehensive, robust and reliable plans in place should another incident occur.
“As well as allowing us to create detailed prevention and contingency plans, the exercise will enable us to test the county’s agencies in working together to quickly deliver solutions for the affected community – whether this be details of road closures, health warnings or help for livestock.
“It is our job to keep the community as safe as possible, so it is imperative that we all, as emergency services and public agencies, know how to act quickly and work efficiently and effectively together in the event of another incident occurring.”
Londonderry fire still burning
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.
Last Wednesday (11 November), a fire broke out at a recycling centre in Londonderry just hours after it was sold to a new operator.
Firefighters are still fighting the fire, having warned last week that it would be a protracted incident due to the intensity of the fire, the nature of the building and the material involved.
A statement released by the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service yesterday (17 November) said: “The Firefighting operation continues and due to the change in wind direction the smoke plume is now blowing towards the Strathfoyle area. Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service would ask members of the local community living in the area to close their windows and doors until the plume clears. Firefighters will remain on site over the next few days, until the fire is fully extinguished.”
No cause for the fire has yet been established.
WISH guidance
In an attempt to prevent fires from occurring, the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum has issued guidance to help waste site operators reduce fire risk.
Endorsed by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA), and developed with input from England’s Environment Agency (EA), the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL), and other bodies, the guidance outlines how best to safely manage the storage of materials susceptible to combustion.
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