A major overnight fire at Devon Contract Waste’s Envirohub materials recycling facility (MRF) in Exeter is under investigation today (2 March).
Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service remain at the Marsh Barton Road site where it is claimed that 66% of the main building’s roof has collapsed.
Devon Contract Waste’s flagship Envirohub MRF has partially collapsed overnight
A fire engine was dispatched shortly before 11pm last night following reports of an alarm system going off at the site.
On arrival, the crew reported smoke and flames issuing from the building but could not gain access until a keyholder for the premises was called.
Escalation
By midnight the building was ‘well alight’ and the situation was escalated to 20 fire engines as well as special appliances.
These included three aerial ladder platforms, an incident command unit, an environmental protection unit, two water bowsers, a high volume pump and various specialist officers.
An update from the Fire Service at 3am confirmed partial collapse of the Envirohub MRF. By 6.30am, the Fire Service confirmed it was scaling down the operation to 10 fire engines.
Firefighters remain on site this morning with alternative waste arrangements in place
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, the Fire Service said it was still not known what had caused the fire but that an investigation had been launched.
Envirohub
Devon Contract Waste invested around £4 million in the Envirohub MRF in 2011, which processes recyclables on behalf of local authorities and businesses in the South West of England.
The company invested £326,000 in a new industrial baler for the plant in January – which doubled its baling capacity from 75,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes of waste per year (see letsrecycle.com story).
Simon Almond, managing director at Devon Contract Waste, confirmed the fire had been contained in a statement this morning.
He said: “It is with a sad heart that I have to announce our Envirohub recycling plant on Marsh Barton Road, Exeter has suffered a major fire overnight.
“Thankfully, due to the prompt actions of the fire officers and the bravery of a number of Devon Contract Waste’s staff, we were able to save the entire fleet of vehicles. This means that service for all our clients will be undertaken as normal and collections will be made as usual. Alternative arrangements to deal with all waste have already been put in place.
“We hope to have telephone and email systems up and running later today from an alternative site.”
Mr Almond thanked the Fire Service for their work throughout the night and the business’ customers for their patience.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
