The incident took place as Hunts Waste site on Chequers Lane where the companys 50 metre by 100 metre facility went up in flames. The London Fire Brigade was called at 13:15 to attend the blaze, which it said was the largest fire in London for several years.
At the height of the incident 40 fire engines and more than 200 firefighters were present. Crews from stations in and around London attended the incident. They were: Leytonstone, Kingsland, Chingford, Woodford, Walthamstow, Hainualt, Romford, Hornchurch, Dagenham, Ilford, Barking, East Ham, Plaistow, Deptford, Bow, Homerton, Edmonton, Sidcup, Millwall, Stoke Newington, Leyton and Tottenham.
The blaze stole headlines around the globe as it came just ahead of the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Games. The site is located approximately eight miles from the Olympic park.
Operations
The Environment Agency today (August 13) said that its officers are on site to investigate the environmental impacts of the blaze.
The fire has caused problems for other firms in the area as several waste sites along Chequers Lane have had to cease operations for the morning. Metal recyclers Van Dalen, Re-use Ltd (formerly Berrymans) and Manns Waste Management are among those affected.
The Environment Agency said: Several waste sites have been closed along Chequers Lane in Dagenham. Waste carriers may need to find alternative sites to deposit waste.
The Agency said the sites were closed due to excess water on the roads as a result of the work to extinguish the fire.
Hunts Waste uses the site for processing a number of materials including: refuse derived fuel (RDF); wood recycling; plasterboard recycling; carpet and carpet tiles; and, plastic, paper and cardboard.
Hunts Waste was not available for comment when contacted by letsrecycle.com.
Incident
Giving an update on the incident a spokesman for London Fire Bridge told letsrecycle.com: The fire was under control by yesterday evening. We are still down there damping down. We have still got ten engines there making sure no hot spots remain and the fire is properly out.
The cause has yet to be looked in to. The investigation will get underway once the site is ready.
The blaze was brought under control by 17:30 but ten fire engines and crews remain at the scene. London Fire Brigade said its crews efforts were Olympic.
Olympics
The plume of smoke from the scene could be seen across London. However, London Fire Brigade assured the public that the Olympic venues were unaffected by the incident.
Commenting on the incident London Fire commissioner Ron Dobson said: Weve not seen a fire of this size in London for several years and its certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade. That said though, we have still been able to attend incidents across the capital and the fire cover were providing at the Olympic venues has not been affected.
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