Fire clean up warning to County Durham residents
A blaze at a County Durham tyre factory back in April has left a delicate situation in terms of the imminent clean-up, now the fire has been brought under a manageable level, warned the local council.
Residents have been warned to expect the release of more smoke during the operation to clear the area as the fire involved the burning of many tonnes of rubber at the Envirotyres factory until it was eventually brought under control.
The fire at Littleburn Industrial Estate, near Langley Moor, had been left to burn itself out rather than using water that would release even more smoke into the environment.
With the clean-up operation getting underway this week to finally put the fire out, the council has told people who live nearby what to expect. A spokesperson said:
“We want to reassure local residents and businesses that if they do see smoke coming from the site that there is no cause for alarm as it will be a direct result of the clean-up work.”
The situation is being jointly managed by Durham County Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, the Health Protection Agency and the Environment Agency.
Residents had already been warned through leaflets sent out previously, about the precautions to take due to large amounts of smoke. The air quality is currently being monitored by the agencies involved.
Fire stations in Berkshire at risk of closure
It has been reported that a number of fire stations in the county of Berkshire may be forced to close because of staff levels.
The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) are having trouble recruiting a sufficient quota of part-time firefighters and so a review of their operations is currently underway.
A spokeswoman for the fire service has warned that unless more retained firefighters who live within a mile of the station are found, as many as four stations could soon be closed.
She explained:
“Retained firefighters provide varying levels of cover, so in actual fact we need to recruit more than 32 people to ensure that the number of retained firefighters on our stations is sufficient to support fire cover.
“With more and more employers unable to release their staff, or self-employed people unable to turn down business for firefighting duties, especially during the day, you can see how this would impact on the availability of retained firefighters.”
The stations at Wargrave, Cookham and Pangbourne are said to be the most at risk under these proposals.
The fire service does have enough full-time staff in the county, but still requires the recruitment of at least an additional 32 part-time firefighters.
Future uncertain for food factory workers after blaze
The jobs of around 200 employees at a food preparation factory in South Yorkshire are currently under threat following a blaze on the premises which destroyed the building in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
It took over 30 firefighters to tackle the huge fire at Dearne Valley Foods in Thurnscoe, close to Doncaster, after a food fryer was thought to have set alight causing flames to spread to the roof of the factory.
Fire crews from Adwick and Dearne, with support from other stations, worked tirelessly to contain the fire as it was moving towards a couple of 10,000-litre oil containers.
The shift workers on duty at 12.15am, the time of the fire, were safely evacuated from the burning building.
A South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said:
“At the height of the fire, eight fire engines were at the scene along with an aerial ladder platform, and local residents were advised to keep doors and windows closed due to the amount of smoke in the area.
“Firefighters managed to create a fire break to stop the blaze spreading to the firm’s offices, and also protected a number of oil tanks and several caravans nearby.
“Two fire engines remained at the scene on Tuesday morning, damping down.”
According to the fire service, the factory suffered 80% damage and a spokesman for Dearne Valley Foods said:
“Today we have spoken to employees, customers and suppliers.
“We are currently assessing the damage caused by the fire. We will brief our employees first when we know how we plan to move forward from here.”
A full investigation is now underway into the blaze.
Blackpool hotel fire causes Prom closure
A fire in one of the biggest hotels in Blackpool forced guests to evacuate the building and South Promenade to close for a few hours on Monday evening.
Fire crews were called to tackle the fire which broke out in the cellar of the Queens Hotel at 1720 GMT.
As the 30 or so firefighters from South Shore, St Annes, Bispham, Forest Gate and Fleetwood attempted to put out the blaze, the hotel’s 169 guests had to leave the premises and were led to nearby Palatine Leisure Centre.
Many of the hotel guests who were suffering from smoke inhalation had to be treated at the scene.
The Promenade was later opened again once the area had been secured and the flames put out by the fire crews. A number of roads surrounding the hotel also had to be closed until the situation was under control.
An investigation is now underway into the cause of the blaze, with the police working with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to conduct this operation.
As yet another fire in a hotel is reported by the media, this just stresses the need for appropriate fire safety training to be given to all staff working in such establishments, with a course in Fire Safety in Hotels, Guest Houses or Bed and Breakfasts now available.
Heathrow cargo blaze caused disruptions over weekend
An exclusion zone had to be set up around a fire in a warehouse cargo area close to Heathrow Airport around lunchtime last Friday.
Due to the blaze at the Servisair Warehouse where a forklift truck is said to have caught fire, firefighters had to cordon off Stansted Road and put a five metre exclusion zone in place.
The warehouse fire caused disruptions to people who were on their way to the busy west London airport through Saturday.
Fire crews were called to the scene with around 100 firefighters and 20 engines involved in the process of putting out the blaze which had spread through the building.
There were no reports of any injuries following the fire, although around 200 people had to be evacuated from the scene at the time. However, the airfield itself still remained open while fire crews tackled the fire.
By Saturday afternoon about 50 firefighters were still on site working with structural engineers to control propane cylinders and to put out the remnants of the fire.
Fire station manager, Seth Why, said:
“We just have a few hot spots remaining which the crew are currently putting out.
“We are going to be working with the owners of the warehouse to leave the building in as safe a condition as possible for them to see the damage.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown and an investigation is underway into the incident.