The fire broke out last Friday (13/02/04) at Overton's site on Butchers Lane in Cradley Heath. Jeremy Sharpe, spokesman for the West Midlands Fire Service, said: “We got a call at 5:48 in the morning and we sent approximately 15 fire engines over the course of the fire which relates to approximately 75 fire fighters.”
The fire involved plastics from the recycling operation, possibly polyurethane pellets, being kept in a storage container, Mr Sharpe explained. “It was quite a large fire and we had it under control within three and a half hours,” he said.
A fire investigation team that visited the scene determined that the cause of the blaze was accidental.
Smoke damage
Dean Overton, managing director of the company, told letsrecycle.com although the site is licensed to store up to 5,000 units, only 500-1,000 were actually on site when the fire broke out and no fridges were damaged. No CFCs were released into the air, he said, but smoke from the fire did cause some problems in the plant.
“It caused very little damage to our machine but there was smoke damage to the building,” he said. “The damage could have been significantly worse.”
Some fuses blew on the machinery during the blaze but now the plant is ready to begin operating again. However, a clean-up operation will be required on the site because of a large amount of soot produced during the fire, Mr Overton added. He said: “The smoke, the soot, has got everywhere. I suspect the insurers are going to have to get a team in to clean the plant but they should be able to work around us and won't disrupt our operation.”
Because the damage is covered by the company's insurance, it should not affect Overton Recycling's customers which include both commercial firms and local authorities in the West Midlands.
“There will be no cost to the business or our customers. The two positive sides to this fire are that no one was injured and our customers won't be affected,” said Mr Overton.
The Environment Agency confirmed that an officer had been sent to the site following the fire but was unable to give any further details at this time.
Subscribe for free