Firefighters called back to scene of Jayplas blaze

A West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) fire engine and crew returned to the depot, which is understood will be out of action for two to three months, in Dartmouth Road, Smethwick, after on-site security reported a flare-up at 5am (July 4).

But, WMFS spokesman Neil Spencer confirmed the incident had been addressed, and the crew is now on stand-by while the diggers continue to break up debris.

He told letsrecycle.com: Late last night we left the scene, and went down to three-hourly revisits. The on-site security knew to call us immediately if anything flared up again.

In fact, they called us at around 5am when there was a flare-up, and we are now there on stand-by while on-site diggers continue their work.

He added: We continue to work closely with Jayplas, who have provided heavy diggers to help break up and move the molten, crust-covered plastic and damp down hotspots.

We have dealt with around 15 serious fires involving the waste and recycling industry so far this year, nine of which required large numbers of firefighters and resources.

Cause

CCTV footage from the site shows the fire, which erupted around 11pm on Sunday (June 30), was caused by a Chinese lantern floating on to a high stack of baled plastics and paper for recycling.

The blaze, which involved a reported 100,000 tonnes of material, injured nine firefighters and led to the closure of a local primary school.

Earlier this week, the services fire chief Vij Randeniya commended his firefighters for their courage and professionalism.

He said: We fought it, and we fought it well. Yes, we were stretched – at one point we only had a single fire engine left on standby.

However, the combination of unrivalled training and our assertive tactics ensured we got the job done.

Concerns

A number of plastics recyclers in the UK are understood to be stockpiling more material after the Chinese government imposed a limit on the quality of material that can be imported into the country early this year

But Stuart Foster, chief executive of plastics recycling body Recoup sought to allay any fears that increasing stockpiles of material could lead to an higher risk of fires at recycling sites.

He said: I believe that linking the recent fire with export markets is not appropriate and the two need to be looked at separately.

If there needs to be a review of current guidance and regulation on the amount of recyclables that can be stored, or the way in which it is stored for safety and fire prevention reasons, this is something for the EA to consider in discussion with the HSE, waste management companies, traders and reprocessors.

Lanterns

Following the Smethwick fire the government has come under increasing pressure to ban Chinese lanterns Among those calling for an urgent review into their use are the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Womens Food and Farming Union (WFU).

However Defra has said it will not ban the lanterns, reaffirming its stance in May that their use did not validate a review or report.