A fire at the abandoned Alex Smiles waste site in Deptford which started last week (14 May) is ongoing.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS), Sunderland City Council, the Environment Agency and Public Health England have been tackling the incident since the fire broke out.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Sunderland City Council, the Environment Agency and Public Health England have been responding to the incident in Deptford (Picture: Environment Agency)
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, a spokesperson for TWFRS confirmed that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
Update
In its latest update earlier today, the city council said partners have made “significant progress” over the weekend.
The council said: “Since Friday, contractors have moved waste from the area nearest the fire to safer areas on site to create a safe working space as firefighting moves from containing and cooling the fire to a more aggressive approach, which will see hot material pulled from the building and made safe.”
Work to remove smouldering waste from the main warehouse will begin today. “This is likely to result in people noticing more smoke and an increased odour coming from the site in the next few days as material is removed and cooled,” the council explained.
According to the council, the privately owned waste site was abandoned when Alex Smiles went into administration in 2015, leaving behind “thousands of tonnes of waste, requiring millions of pounds to safely remove”.
Les Clark, chief operating officer at Sunderland City Council, said: “This is about protecting public health first and foremost. That’s why we have unanimously agreed to intervene, now that it’s safe to do so, as quickly and effectively as possible to limit the risk to people living and working nearby.
A picture taken at the height of the fire (Picture: Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service)
“By taking a more aggressive approach to tackling the fire we stand a much better chance of bringing this to a safe conclusion sooner than would happen otherwise.”
Fire Service
The fire service said it remains on scene with 16 firefighters alongside the Environment Agency, working to reduce the risk of a further spread of the fire.
TWFRS, assistant chief fire officer, Alan Robson said: “Our crews continue to apply a number of ground monitors, drawing water from the Wear via our High Volume Pump. Whilst people nearby may see an occasional light plume of smoke as we further dampen down the waste, we are working hard to minimise any further smoke emissions.”
The Environment Agency and Sunderland City Council have been monitoring air quality around the site since the fire started and monitoring will continue as the next phase of work gets underway.
Area duty manager for the Environment Agency, Alan Cadas, said: “We had comprehensive plans in place to deal with issues on the site and this multi-partner response has helped ensure the blaze was contained and impact on the environment has been minimised as much as possible.
An Environment Agency field operations team have been on site building a sandbag bund wall to contain the fire water run-off and protect local businesses (Picture: Environment Agency)
“Our field operations team has been working hard to contain the firewater to protect local businesses adjacent to the site and we are continuing to sample firewater which is running into the River Wear. We have received initial results from the laboratory and at present are confident that there is minimal impact on the water quality of the river.
“We are working closely with waste contractors to ensure all waste will be disposed of properly and the necessary permissions are in place in time for removal work.”
Health advice
Public Health England is continuing to advise residents in areas affected by Deptford fire to follow public health advice.
The council has reminded people living and working near the site to limit the time they spend outside and avoid the smoke.
The post Efforts continue to tackle Sunderland waste blaze appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com General
