South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has suggested that a fire at a WEEE recycling site near Mexborough yesterday (March 3) was caused by a “battery catching fire”.
The service was called to a fire on the site owned by Universal Recycling on Wharf Road, Mexborough, just after 09:30 yesterday morning.
Six fire crews attended the site
Six fire crews attended the scene with “machinery and equipment within the building involved in the blaze”. Residents were also asked to stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut.
At 12:10 PM, the fire service released a statement saying that “thanks to the quick actions of the Incident Commander and the crews the fire is now under control”, and that it was to open an investigation.
“This was a multi-agency response including Police, Environment Agency and Utilities attending,” the service confirmed.
Investigation
Less than an hour later, it released a statement saying: “The investigation into the cause of the fire at the warehouse in Kilnhurst has now taken place. It was accidental due to a battery catching fire.”
Below is an aerial view of the site:
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, James Hughes, director of Universal Recycling, said: “The fire was out in around 15 minutes, and was only around five metres high. Safety is always our number one concern and thankfully nobody was hurt in the incident. I think with the smoke it looked a lot worse than it was, and it is business as usual today.”
The blaze at the Wharf Road site is one of the latest to have hit the area in recent years. In June 2018, plastics recycler Moulding Solutions, which is based near to the Universal Recycling site, suffered a fire in its own yard (see letsrecycle.com story). Universal Recycling also suffered a fire at its Wharf Road site in May 2017.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
