The largest of the fires is thought to have been in Leyton, north east London which has now been brought “under control”.
London
The fire started shortly after 5pm yesterday (12 July) at a facility operated by waste management firm Bywaters in Auckland Road. At its height, around 72 firefighters and officers were at the site with crews from Leyton, Leytonstone, Homerton, Stratford, and surrounding fire stations in attendance.
The fire also led to the temporary closure of the Gateway Road Reuse and Recycling Centre (RRC), located opposite the site, which takes waste from the London borough of Waltham Forest.
Speaking yesterday from the scene, station manager, Dave Green, said: “Mechanical diggers are being used to make fire breaks to prevent the fire spreading. This is likely to be a protracted incident and fire crews are likely to be working throughout the night damping down pockets of fire to ensure there’s no smouldering or reignition.”
This morning, a spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said the fire has been brought “under control” with firefighters remaining on scene. The cause of the fire is not yet known, the fire service added.
A spokesperson for NLWA said: “At 5:14am today we were notified by Bywaters that there had been a fire in their Waste Management Centre opposite to the Gateway Road Reuse and Recycling Centre (RRC). We were advised by the local police and fire brigade that the RRC would need to remain closed for the duration of today to allow full access to the site and to ensure resident safety. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
In a statement, Bywaters thanked the Fire Brigade for its “outstanding response”.
The company added: “Bywaters safety team immediately responded as did the London Fire Brigade who were immediately called and quickly arrived at the site to extinguish the fire. No injuries or harm occurred to any persons. The situation has interrupted operations at the Gateway Road Leyton facility, however we can confirm that normal operations will resume on Monday 16th July at 6am.”
Cornwall
Last weekend a fire on the Tamar View Industrial Estate was tackled by crews from Cornwall Fire and Rescue service.
The blaze, at a site run by Westcountry Skips in Saltash saw the fire service called at 22.40 on Saturday evening.
A spokesperson for the fire brigated said that: “When crews arrived a large pile of general waste was well alight. An aerial ladder platform from Devon and the command unit from Launceston were required.”
Fire crews wore breathing apparatus because of the dense smoke and residents nearby were asked for their “safety and wellbeing” to keep their windows shut.
A spokesman for the company said earlier this week that it could not comment on the incident at the time.
(Below: thermal imaging of the site from Cornwall Fire and Rescue)
This was our ALP crew using the Thermal imaging camera to help the IC with size of the area and heat spots. This was through thick smoke, you can hear them wearing BA inside the cage, this was to give them safe air in the thick of the incident 👍 pic.twitter.com/KlGobFO1I8
— Newquay Community Fire Station (@NewquayCFRS) July 8, 2018
Attero/Transwaste
On Tuesday a fire at a site thought to be owned by Attero Recycling in Melton, Leicestershire saw a building and waste involved.
The site was believed to have been owned by Transwaste until earlier this month.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said that there was a fire “involving rubbish and large open sided steel framed cladded building.”
A total of six appliances attended including an aerial appliance and three jets. The fire service were supported by onsite staff using mechanical diggers to move burning rubbish, the fire service said. Once extinguished, the fire service left the incident after liaising with onsite staff.
A statement from Attero has been requested.
(Updated 16 July)
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