EMERGENCY PLANNING SHOWS ITS WORTH

An accidental spark recently caused a devastating fire in a Worcester scrap yard.

But fire bosses said it could have been much worse if not for the forward-thinking of the owner of Blackpole Metals, who kept a well ordered yard and CCTV, which prevent the fire spreading to surrounding buildings & allowed fire investigators to quickly identify the cause of the blaze.

The devastating fire began by accident after a smouldering spark from metal cutting smouldered for hours & then later ignited a huge blaze which destroyed 60 vehicles and other machinery. 

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) were called to the fire at the metal recycling centre on Blackpole Trading Estate West.  6 fire appliances from Worcester, Droitwich, Bromsgrove and Upton were deployed to the incident, supported by a specialist foam unit, water carrier, environmental protection unit, aerial appliance and a hazardous materials officer.

On arrival firefighters were faced with a substantial fire involving approximately 60 scrap vehicles and large on site plant & machinery which were contained within a small yard and surrounded on all sides by buildings and the main Worcester railway line. 

 

Police quickly created a cordon and evacuated nearby premises. 

Fire crews immediately stopped the trains and acted quickly to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.  However their task was made more difficult due to limited access to the site and the risk of cylinders involved in the fire exploding. In spite of this crews managed to stop the fire spreading and utilised foam to bring the fire under control. No-one was injured during the fire. 

The Environment Agency provided specialist support to the fire service’s environmental protection unit preventing foam and water runoff from entering the nearby Barbourne Brook and Ambulance personnel were quickly on scene to deal with any potential injuries.

GC Marshall from HWFRS praised the owner of the site, saying “The yard was very well organised, with good fire separation. This greatly assisted firefighting operations and helped to avoid significant damage to surrounding businesses. In addition, on site CCTV cameras were able to capture the outbreak of the fire which clearly showed it to have started accidentally.”