Fire service voices concern over waste fires

Concerns have been raised by West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service over the impact of fires at waste and recycling sites in the region after several high profile blazes in recent months.

The organisation said that tackling large scale waste fires has the potential to pollute local water courses and can also have a negative impact on air quality.

The comments follow fires at HW Martins materials recycling facility (MRF) in Leeds in August (see letsrecycle.com story) and at a tyre recycling site in Sherburn-in-Elmet, which was tackled by the neighbouring North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service this month (see letsrecycle.com story).

Commenting the operations to tackle major waste fires, West Yorkshires assistant chief fire officer Dave Walton, said: The application of significant amounts of water in an attempt to extinguish the fire can have the consequential effect of producing large amounts of contaminated fire water run-off which can, in turn, pollute local water courses.

Conversely a policy of controlled burning can have an air quality impact and produces a source of annoyance and inconvenience for nearby residents and businesses which can last for some considerable time given the deep seated nature of such fires in massive quantities of waste.

Guidance

Fire safety guidance for waste and recycling site operators was released by the Environment Agency in October (see letsrecycle.com story), with sector specific guidance currently being drawn up by the Agency in conjunction with the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA).

A spokesman for the Environment Agencys Yorkshire and North East region commented that protecting the environment from fires at waste sites is a major undertaking.

He said: Fires at recycling and waste sites can potentially have a significant impact on the local environment and nearby communities. When responding to such incidents, the Environment Agency aims to assess the possible risks and ensure that action is taken to prevent or limit the damage that the fire may have on the environment.

For example, we check the sites proximity to watercourses and surface water drains, and work with water companies to find out what possible impact there could be on drinking water supplies. As part of this protective work we may take water quality samples or assess the health of wildlife in a particular watercourse.

Any liquids used to put out the fire can run-off the site, causing pollution, so we also work with the fire service to consider the most appropriate way of dealing with the fire itself.
As a regulator of waste sites, the Environment Agency works with companies to ensure that they operate with appropriate environmental and fire safety management systems in place, so that the risk of major fires occurring is reduced.