Firefighters were called to the Ancaster site near Grantham at 01.57 this morning (July 7), where around 100×100 metres of mixed household refuse and shredded carpets is alight.
A total of 12 appliances from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue Service are tackling the blaze, with crews cooling adjacent buildings and using two main jets to extinguish the flames. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Lincolnshire Police has reported no injuries but is advising residents in the area to keep windows and doors closed due to thick black smoke rising from the site. A number of local roads are also closed.
A police spokesperson said: “Fire and other emergency services were called to Mid UK recycling on the High Dyke at Wilsford earlier this morning where bales of waste were well alight. Police, Fire and Ambulance responders were at the scene and police toured the area advising residents to keep their windows closed as there was thick black smoke coming from the fire.
“A number of roads around the area have been closed. The cause of the fire is not yet known. There are no injuries.”
Mid UK
Based in Sleaford, Mid UK Recycling processes waste and recyclables on behalf of businesses and local authorities in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area. The firm also produces refuse-derived fuel and operates a 3MW biomass waste wood plant.
The firm’s Barkston Heath site includes a warehousing complex and a materials recycling facility (MRF) that was originally commissioned to convert residual waste into RDF. However, it is now also due to handle part of a 70,000 tonnes-per-year recycling contract on behalf of seven Lincolnshire district and borough authorities.
The blaze is the second time fire has struck the Ancaster site, after it was hit by fire in early 2013. And, a large amount of equipment was destroyed when a fire tore through the company’s Caythorpe MRF in 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Inquest
The latest fire also comes during an inquest into the death of a worker at the Barkston Heath facility.
Jurors at the inquest heard how Karlis Pavasars, a father of two, had to be identified by DNA from his toothbrush when he was killed in an industrial shredder at the site in July 2013. The inquest has been adjourned until Friday (July 10).
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Mid UK Recycling declined to comment on the fire.
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