Kent Fire and Rescue Services were called to the Northfleet site to tackle the warehouse fire which was described by the fire service as “one of the largest ever faced in Kent”.
A statement from the fire brigade said that six pumps were originally sent to the warehouse on the Kimberly Clarke site at Northfleet. “The structure, measuring approximately 400 by 400 metres, was found to be well alight. A 500-foot column of smoke towered above the fire. The KFRS attendance was increased to 15 pumps and about 120 firefighters plus specialist vehicles. Three ground monitors and a water tower were used to tackle the blaze.”
The Kimberly-Clark warehouse stands alongside an unused factory on the banks of the Thames and is used for storing paper products.
Today a spokeswoman for the fire service told letsrecycle.com that some officers were still in attendance at the warehouse site monitoring the situation in case the blaze should flare up again although it was believed to have been extinguished.
A spokeswoman for Kimberly-Clark said that the on the finished products side, “we are very confident of supply continuity and the impact will be more internal than anything else”.
The company, she said, will be looking at a variety of ways to ensure supplies including use of four other distribution centres and some warehouses as well as some extra production.
Prices for office grade material, much of which is often used in recycling to make tissue grade materials, fell by up to 5 at the beginning of July. Some merchants consider that the impact could strengthen demand in the UK although others felt there would be little impact.
One said: “At present there is plenty of recovered material around, especially on the continent. Because of this I don't see prices rising although I would imagine that KC will be keen to increase production in the UK because of the fire.”
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