Assessing the Aftermath of the Largest Fire in the West Midlands

2nd July 2013

Yesterday’s fire at a plastic recycling plant in the West Midlands, the largest fire witnessed in the area, has raised serious concerns over fire safety.

The cause of the fire, a Chinese lantern, captured on CCTV descending towards the site, has sparked an urgent review of their use. The fire service has previously campaigned to discourage their use, and requested councils to consider issuing licences for the mass release of such lanterns. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said it was raising awareness of the risks of sky lanterns in order to reduce fire risks.

Chief Fire Officer for the West Midlands Fire Service, Mr Randeniya, added “What you’re doing in an unregulated and uncontrolled way is putting fire in the sky and every now and again it lands on something like this and we’re here for three days”.

The fire is said to have caused £6m worth of damage to the plant, with substantial costs also incurred by the fire brigade, who deployed more than 200 fire-fighters to the scene with many still present more than 24 hours later. The West Midlands Ambulance Service also reported it had been called to treat 12 fire-fighters for a variety of minor injuries.

Meanwhile, local businesses, schools and the community have been seriously affected. Schools have closed, depot deliveries been suspended and workers at the industrial park sent home, testing the robustness of business continuity plans for all in the surrounding area as roads remain closed for a second day.

The next huge task is the cleanup operation and investigation of environmental impacts. Teams are already on site assessing the impact of possible pollutants from fire-fighters’ run-off and falling oxygen levels in nearby watercourses.

According to Mr Randeniya, this was the 15th fire at a waste recycling site in the West Midlands this year, calling for an urgent meeting with plant operators in the area.

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