Asbestos warning at Glamorgan recycling plant fire

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) are urging residents within a two-mile radius of Llandow Industrial Estate in Glamorgan to stay indoors over fears that asbestos may be burning at a local recycling plant.

According to South Wales Police, the ‘premises ablaze has asbestos in the roof’.

SWFRS said: ‘Asbestos has not been confirmed at present at the site however if asbestos is confirmed this does not pose a safety risk to the public as heavy rainfall and water from firefighting will prevent the asbetos from spreading.

‘The vale of glamorgan emergency planning team are currently at the scene of the incident to assess if there is any asbestos within the premises.’

Members of the public living or working in close proximity to the scene of the incident are advised to shut all windows and doors to help reduce smoke entering their homes.

SiteServ fire

Around 45 firefighters were called to tackle a blaze at the SiteServ Recycling Centre at Llandow Trading Estate yesterday evening (5 November), after reports of a ‘large fire’ were received.

Six fire appliances, two aerial platforms and four water bowsers were used to bring the waste transfer station fire under control. As of this morning, two appliances, one ariel platform and one water bowser were on scene to dampen down burning refuse.

The fire service has said the fire has been contained and is now expected to burn for two/three days.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but an investigation is now underway.

Lisa Shroll, Siteserv's Director of Business Services, told the BBC: “Whilst we are unsure of the source of the fire, we are working with both the fire service and police to establish possible causes.

"In the meantime, the management team has activated the company business continuity plans and is working tirelessly to ensure that we are operating business as usual."

The police have said that the building, measuring 100 metres by 50 metres,has been ‘totally damaged by fire’.

Siteserv Recycling employs around 200 people and was set up more than 16 years ago by brothers Nigel and Philip England.

Kent fire

In related news, firefighters are tackling a blaze at a commercial compost unit in a quarry in Kent.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service crews were called to the site in Kings Hill, West Malling at about 7.20am this morning and used four fire engines and a water unit to tackle the fire.

Mechanical diggers are also on site to help the firefighting operations.

KFRS said that the fire is ‘ongoing’.

Residents near the unit in Blaise Quarry Road have been advised to close doors and windows.

Tackling waste fires

The incidents come just days after the Environment Agency released new guidance aimed at reducing the outbreak of fire at waste storage sites.

Prepared in partnership with the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), the new Technical Guidance Note (TGN) ‘Reducing Fire Risk at Sites Storing Combustible Materials’, identifies a range of measures that operators of waste storage sites should implement to minimise the risk of fire.

Waste site fires are commonplace, and earlier this year it was revealed that in the years 2001-2012, the average rate of fires at waste and recycling works came in at just under one per day.

Further to the environmental and social damage that waste fires cause, the cost of clearing up such fires is extensive; the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have revealed that emergency services in Scotland spent £15.9 million tackling 8,000 waste fires in 2012/13.