Fire at Redcar steel plant
Around 50 firefighters attended a fire at a steel-making factory in Teeside after an explosion at the works.
Around 11 fire crews were called to SSI, in Redcar at around 5am when a fire broke out at the plant and spent over an hour extinguishing the blaze.
Bosses at SSI, reported that there was “minor explosion” but that there were no casualties.
A spokesperson for the plant said: “It happened about 5am and fire crews left about 6am. Operations did not cease but more importantly nobody was injured.”
The fire is the latest in a long line of setbacks at the company.
Phil Dryden, chief executive of SSI UK, said: “Although this has been a very tough year for steel businesses across the globe, the plant has operated extremely well since the restart and this is another important milestone reached. It is a demonstration of the commitment shown by SSI UK employees and is testament to the support received from all the stakeholders involved in the rebirth of iron and steelmaking on Teesside.”
Blaze breaks out at Chorley landfill site
Firefighters were called to a waste disposal site in Chorley after a fire broke out at around 9pm on 21st May.
Six fire crews from the area spent over two hours tackling the blaze at the Clayton Hall Landfill Site in, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley.
The fire started in a waste storage area and it is not yet known how the fire started.
A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The building on fire was a storage building for recyclable materials, from plastics through to metals. It is not thought that it is arson. We don’t know how it started, but we are currently looking into it. At the time of the fire, it was dark, so firefighters had to get lighting equipment set up. They used breathing apparatus, to go into the burning building, as there was a lot of smoke swirling around.”
An investigation into the cause of the fire is being carried out but it is not thought to be deliberate.
Residents evacuated at Stapleford flat blaze
Around 20 people were evacuated from a large fire that broke out in a block of flats in Stapleford at around 5.40am on 29th April.
The fire started in a first floor flat. A couple and a 3 year old girl were taken to a local hospital to receive treatment for smoke inhalation. One other person required hospital treatment for minor injuries.
Firefighters spent several hours tackling the blaze. Residents in nearby flats were evacuated as a precaution.
The British Red Cross arrived at the property to provide temporary shelter for residents until a structutal engineer has assessed the extent of the damage.
Fire destroys Sheffield Ski Village
The Sheffield Ski Village complex has suffered severe damage after a huge blaze broke out on 29th April at around 1am.
25 Firefighters arrived at the scene just off Vale Road, to find the main building, which is a wooden structure, in flames.
Stuart Nicholson from the fire service said: “We suspect acetylene cylinders are inside the building but we have not confirmed yet if we have been able to put water on the cylinders. We are pumping around 3,000 litres of water per minute onto the fire from the River Don and have all but extinguished the flames. There is very little remaining of the building. It could be a further 24 hours before we can get closer to the site to carry out our investigation because of the risk of cylinders being involved in fire.”
It is thought that no one was on sight at the time of the fire. A safety cordon was set up around the area due to fears of acetylene cylinder explosions.
It is not yet known how the fire started but a full investigation will now be carried out.
Fire at Witton metal factory
More than 40 firefighters attended a large fire at the Timet UK metal factory in Witton at around 8am on 11th April.
Crews from Perry Barr, Erdington, Ward End, Bournbrook, Highgate, Wednesbury and Sheldon community fire stations were sent to the scene.
The fire is thought to have started in the basement of the two-storey factory.
No one was believed to be inside the building and the cause of the fire is currently unknown.