Trefor Jones, of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said that the blaze at the Biffa landfill had covered a “vast area” equivalent to the size of four football pitches at its peak – four times bigger than first thought.
“Although fires in and around landfill sites are very common,” Mr Jones explained, “the difference with this one was that it managed to get into a substantial area of the site.” Estimates on Monday had put the fire’s spread at the area of just one football pitch.
Barry Walton from Biffa, which runs the site, said: “The fire was effectively extinguished on Monday evening. We were digging up the area on Tuesday and will be inspecting it to make sure that there is no damage to the landfill site lining.”
Mr Jones said the fire was thought to have been essentially a surface fire, with the burning material mostly industrial rubbish. It started on what he described as a “cliff face” of rubbish almost 200m long by 30m high. High winds then helped it spread to a lower level in a different part of the site which was not protected by a cover material of non-flammable silt.
The majority of the flames were put out using silt from around the site. Today, smouldering “hot spots” are being targeted by irrigation methods which pump water thorough the lower layers of the refuse.
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