However, it is unable to comment further or confirm the company involved “due to ongoing legal proceedings”.
The fire took place at a privately-owned recycling centre in Bocking between Covent Lane and the A131 at Marks Farm, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service explained.
At the time, residents were warned to avoid the area and to keep their windows shut if they lived nearby due to the amount of smoke the fire was producing.
While the company which operated the site at the time of the fire is known within the industry, it is yet to be confirmed by the fire service or Environment Agency.
Incident
The fire service said that six on-call crews were called to the scene, following more than 60 calls to the control room regarding the incident. On arrival, they reported that approximately 600 tonnes of waste clothing were alight.
After working to prevent the fire from spreading to the nearby woodland and extinguishing it in sections, the incident has been scaled down to three crews working with extreme rescue. They used diggers to pull some of the clothing away and dampen it down, the fire service continued.
Station manager Nick Singleton, incident commander, thanked the crews who attended, “all from on-call stations”.
He said: “They worked really hard in blistering conditions and very hot work. They’ve done very well to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading into the woodlands and further onto the fields as well.”
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