There were no reported casualties at either of the fires, and investigations into the causes are now underway.
Suez
Suez confirmed that a fire involving a “large amount of household waste and recycling” broke out at its transfer station on West Lane, in Sittingbourne on Saturday (25 September) evening.
Kent Fire and Rescue service were notified at 19.06 on Saturday and arrived on site to tackle to blaze with eleven fire engines, a height vehicle and a bulk water carrier.
Crews remained on site throughout the weekend dampening down.
SITTINGBOURNE: KFRS say that eleven fire engines, a height vehicle and a bulk water carrier have been sent to the scene of a large factory in the area of West Lane tonight. pic.twitter.com/TgN1QENyGy
— Kent 999s (@Kent_999s) September 25, 2021
Cause
Paul Stirling, regional manager for Suez confirmed to letsrecycle.com today that a cause is not yet known, however a “full investigation” will be carried out.
Mr Stirling said: “We can confirm that there was a fire at our transfer station at West Lane, Sittingbourne on Saturday evening. Thankfully no one was injured. The fire service attended and brought the fire under control. Crews remained on site throughout Sunday damping down hot spots and the remaining engine left around midnight.
“We don’t yet know what caused the fire, but a full investigation will be carried out. We thank the crews from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and our teams for their hard work over the weekend.”
The latest update from the fire service said that firefighting work is now complete and advice for local residents to close windows and doors is no longer in place.
S. Norton
On the same evening, a “significant” scrapyard fire broke out at recycling company S. Norton’s Bankfield site in Liverpool on Saturday at approximately 22.30.
Merseyside fire and rescue described the incident as “challenging”, as firefighters tackled “two main seats” of the fire over the weekend, with one around 50 x 20 metres and another involving around 150 scrap cars.
The fire service said that the fire spread to the main building of the scrapyard.
However S. Norton said that the fire was contained within the stockpiles.
Firefighters continued to tackle the fire until late on Sunday night, however S. Norton confirmed to letsrecycle.com this morning that that it has now been fully extinguished and an investigation into the cause is underway.
Control
An S. Norton spokesperson commented: “We apologise to our neighbours and the general public for any disruption this incident may have caused. Our Emergency Action plan was promptly implemented and the fire was handled promptly and professionally by the fire services, in conjunction with our own teams who are trained if such instances occur.
“We wish to thank the Fire & Rescue service for their response to this incident. We will now be working closely with the relevant bodies to investigate the cause of this fire.
“In the meantime, we can assure the public, our neighbours and our supply chain that we have taken all reasonable actions to continue to operate safely and recycle responsibly, and that our facilities are therefore open as usual.”
The company added that the incident is a “stark reminder” of the significant hazards created by placing hazardous materials in the incorrect waste stream.
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