The Northern Irish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that it received a call to attend the site at 4:37pm yesterday with operations having continued throughout the night to tackle the fire, which stretched out across an area of almost 120 metres.
Wastebeater sorts and separates recyclable materials at the site, which houses an automated MRF— capable of processing over 100,000 tonnes of waste and recyclables per year. Materials processed at the site include paper, cardboard and plastic packaging.
The extent of the damage to the site has yet to be established – although Wastebeater has stated that operations will continue at the site this week.
Fires at waste and recycling facilities will be under the spotlight at letsrecycle.com’s one day Fire Prevention and Control Conference at London’s QEII Centre on 9 November. Click here for more details.
Six fire appliances remain at the waste and recycling facility on Kennedy Way industrial estate, where the fire has now been contained, but firefighters are likely to remain for the course of the day. The fire service has warned people to avoid the area and keep doors and windows closed.
A spokesperson for the NIFRS told letsrecycle.com the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but once firefighters have finished their operations at the site they may be in a position to determine how the incident began.
Smoke plume
In a statement issued last night, group commander Keith Black of the NIFRS confirmed that 75 personnel and 12 fire appliances attended the scene, including specialist high-reach vehicles and a dedicated control unit.
He said: “The fire is creating a high volume of smoke in and around the area and a plume across the M1 motorway. NIFRS would ask the public to avoid the area both in vehicles and on foot in order to leave emergency access available at all times. People in commercial premises or housing in the vicinity of the fire should keep doors and windows closed to avoid the smoke.”
Mr Black added: “NIFRS currently has sufficient resources on the ground to deal with the incident in a recycling plant, but as the fire currently stretches across an area of almost 120 metres and is up to two floors high, it is likely that it will take a number of hours to fully contain.”
Wastebeater
In a statement a spokesman for Wastebeater said: “All of our staff have vacated the site and are accounted for. Wastebeater management is co-operating fully with the NIFRS and other emergency services.
“We acknowledge the inconvenience caused to local people and we will do all that we can to minimise disruption over the hours and days ahead.
“We have contingency plans in place to deal with any major incident and those plans were activated immediately. We are contacting our customers and they can be assured that despite this setback we will be open for business tomorrow and their waste management service will not be impacted.
“We will endeavour to keep local people informed as the situation develops.”
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