Industry

Fire engulfs MRF warehouse

Fire engulfs MRF warehouse
A large fire engulfed a warehouse containing paper, rubber, plastic and cardboard at a materials recovery facility (MRF) run by Weir Waste Services near Birmingham last night (27 April).

West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) received over 40 calls from residents reporting the fire at the recycling site on Trinity Street, Oldbury, which broke out at around 10.15 last night. 

More than 80 firefighters from crews from Smethwick, Oldbury, West Bromwich, Haden Cross and Dudley were required throughout the night to fight the blaze. At its height, 10 fire engines and two aerial platforms were needed on site.

Smoke from the fire was reaching 100 feet into the air and, according to local press, the fire was ‘ravaging’ the warehouse measuring around 200 metres long and 30 metres high.

According to the Express & Star, around 200 tonnes of residual waste outside the warehouse as well as the building itself was ‘well alight’, with up to 70 per cent of the roof affected by the fire. Fire crews found two men inside the building trying to fight the fire with a garden hose. The men were removed and crews worked for hours to prevent the fire spreading to an adjacent larger warehouse that was also filled with residual waste.

The fire has now been ‘scaled down’, and some crews remain on the site with employees of Weir to clear the area.

WMFS has confirmed that no toxic smoke has been emitted from the fire, but has asked local residents and businesses to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has begun.

Weir Waste Services operates two MRFs in the West Midlands, which together have the capacity to process 500,000 tonnes of waste per year. The Oldbury site was upgraded in April 2013 to include an automated commercial and industrial waste recovery facility capable of processing 25 tonnes an hour.

Earlier this month (15 April), Weir Waste Services was fined £46,250 and made to pay prosecution costs of £50,000 for breaching its environmental permits and failing to comply with an enforcement notice at its waste transfer station in Bordesley Green.

Delivering the sentence, however, the judge at Birmingham Crown Court said that the sentence had been reduced for various reasons including the company’s lack of previous convictions, and mechanical breakdowns and poor weather conditions that led to inevitable failure. The judge also noted that any economic gain from the offending was tempered by hiring in equipment and that the company intends to leave the site and move operations to a new ‘state-of-the-art facility’ to ensure the problems experienced are not repeated.

Waste site fires commonplace

Fires at waste sites are commonplace, with figures released in 2013 showing that between 2001 and 2012, the average rate of fires at waste and recycling works came in at just under one per day. 

In an attempt to prevent fires from occurring, the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum has issued guidance to help waste site operators reduce fire risk, which Operations Director of the Chief Fire Officers’ Association, Roy Wilsher, said was “hugely useful”.

Find out more about waste fire guidance