Blaze at recycling plant scaling down after more than 24 hours
Monday, 6th June 2011.
A huge fire at a waste rcycling plant in Haverhill is stil requiring fire service in attendance some 28 hours after it started and threw a pall of cloud across the town's bypass.
Firefighters issued a safety warning to residents in the Helions Bumpstead area as plumes of thick black smoke issued from the recycling centre yesterday afternoon.
Special equipment to monitor air quality was brought in by the Environment Agency after the blaze broke out at the plant on Haverhill bypass, shortly before 1pm.
Around 40 fire fighters tackled the blaze from outside the building. There was no one on site when the blaze broke out and they had to get into the huge closed building via the roof.
Acrid smoke from burning waste material and plastic inside the unit made it difficult for the crews to fight the flames.
Initially, two pumps were sent to the incident but after they arrived at the scene, more pumps were requested to attend.
The plume of smoke worsened throughout the afternoon and the Environment Agency asked for air monitoring equipment to be sited at the scene.
Environmental health officers were also brought in to monitor the situation.
Fire crews from Haverhill, Wickhambrook, Linton, in Cambridgeshire and Clare all attended as well as a turntable ladder from Bury st Edmunds and support vehicles.
Fire crews tried to tackle the flames through the roof but the blaze spread along the inside of the building.
A water bowser was called in from Newmarket due to poor water supply and a water tanker from Anglian Water Authority was requested by the Anglian water officer.
Fire crews were in attendance throughout the night and were only scaling down to one fire engine at 5pm today, by which time diggers were on site turning over the debris.
It is not yet known how the fire started.
Firefighters issued a safety warning to residents in the Helions Bumpstead area as plumes of thick black smoke issued from the recycling centre yesterday afternoon.
Special equipment to monitor air quality was brought in by the Environment Agency after the blaze broke out at the plant on Haverhill bypass, shortly before 1pm.
Around 40 fire fighters tackled the blaze from outside the building. There was no one on site when the blaze broke out and they had to get into the huge closed building via the roof.
Acrid smoke from burning waste material and plastic inside the unit made it difficult for the crews to fight the flames.
Initially, two pumps were sent to the incident but after they arrived at the scene, more pumps were requested to attend.
The plume of smoke worsened throughout the afternoon and the Environment Agency asked for air monitoring equipment to be sited at the scene.
Environmental health officers were also brought in to monitor the situation.
Fire crews from Haverhill, Wickhambrook, Linton, in Cambridgeshire and Clare all attended as well as a turntable ladder from Bury st Edmunds and support vehicles.
Fire crews tried to tackle the flames through the roof but the blaze spread along the inside of the building.
A water bowser was called in from Newmarket due to poor water supply and a water tanker from Anglian Water Authority was requested by the Anglian water officer.
Fire crews were in attendance throughout the night and were only scaling down to one fire engine at 5pm today, by which time diggers were on site turning over the debris.
It is not yet known how the fire started.
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