Location: Huyton
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service are in attendance at an incident on Wilson Road, Huyton.
Crews were alerted at 19.34 and on scene at 19.48, with six fire engines and one aerial appliance attending.
On arrival this is a large pile of household waste involved in fire measuring approximately 50m x 50m and 5m in height. The fire has spread to a nearby single storey warehouse.
20.37
There are now 10 fire engines and two aerial appliances assigned to this incident for personnel and due to the size of the fire. Crews are working incredibly hard to tackle the blaze. A ground monitor and one main jet is in use, as the aerial appliance is being set up.
Due to a visibly large smoke plume, residents and businesses in the area should keep doors and windows closed. People with an existing health condition should keep medicines close and if any ill effects are experienced dial NHS 111 for advice.
22.45
The incident has been sectorised. There is one aerial appliance in use in sector one, two main jets and one hose reel jet in use in sector two, one covering branch, one aerial appliance and one hose reel jet in use in sector three, and four main jets in use and one high volume pump being set up in sector four to help boost water supplies.
UPDATE – Wednesday 3rd July, 09.35
Crews have worked tirelessly through the night working collaboratively from MFRS Fire Control and North West Fire Control staff to the fire ground, where MFRS relief crews have been mobilised with additional support from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service. We would like to thank all personnel that have been involved at this incident for their steadfast response and steely determination to step forward when needed.
Multi-Agency meetings have taken place between MFRS, Merseyside Police and the Local Authority to establish a plan of action with 11 appliances, two aerial appliances and one high volume pump in use as firefighting activities continue at scene.
This is a steel framed warehouse approximately 50m by 50m consisting of a large quantity of household waste involved in fire. Separate to this is a household waste pile approximately 30m by 40m also involved in fire.
This incident has been sectorised as follows. In sectors one and two, we have one aerial appliance in use as a water tower, two main jets fighting the external waste pile, and two main jets tackling the internal structure from a position of safe air.
One ground monitor is in place firefighting in sector three and one aerial appliance is in use as a water tower creating a fire break between Link Recycling and Locker Freight.
A further four ground monitors are firefighting externally, applying water to Link Recycling via specific access points and creating a fire break between Link Recycling and adjacent properties.
Crews have now been withdrawn and will monitor temperatures every 15 minutes.
After liaising with Merseyside Police, the following road closures are in place:
The north side of Wilson Road between Link Road and Brickfields, businesses inside the area bounded by Wilson Street, Link Road, and Ellis Ashton Street and Brickfields will be inaccessible for the duration of this incident.
In addition, HTL Travel and John Mason International are also inaccessible during this incident due to the positioning of the High Volume Pump.
We thank our communities for their continued support and patience at this time.
This is an ongoing incident, please avoid the area.
UPDATE – 17.15
Multi-Agency meetings have taken place throughout the day between MFRS, Merseyside Police, Environment Agency, Knowsley Council, Environmental Health, the Link Site Manager, Manager of Mainsway, as well as a request for United Utilities and the site’s responsible person to attend.
Actions have been agreed by all agencies and a tactical plan shared. The Environment Agency have taken actions to investigate the air quality. MFRS and Knowsley Council have issued safety messages to the public.
The responsible person for Link Recycling has provided a JCB digger and Operator to assist with firefighting operations by dismantling the large external waste pile.
Fire crews have undertaken damping down and hot spotting with high pressure hose reels, main jets, ground monitors, and an aerial appliance.
One JCB digger is currently spreading out the main pile of rubbish, with three high pressure hose reels damping down. Two ground monitors are in use on the main warehouse structure.
One aerial appliance is in situ but not in use, a second aerial appliance is not in use due to the smoke plume. One ground monitor and one main branch is in use to dampen down and hot spot.
UPDATE – Thursday 4th July, 12.15
Crews have worked diligently overnight in arduous conditions to prevent fire spread and enable progress towards bringing this incident to a close.
Earlier yesterday evening operational personnel used a mechanical digger, one main jet and one high pressure hose reel on the external pile of waste. Two ground monitors were used to damp down inside the warehouse. One aerial appliance was set up to monitor the rear of the warehouse. There was also two additional ground monitors and one main jet in operation, with relief crews on scene to assist colleagues around the clock.
Plant machinery operations then ceased overnight with discussions with the site owner ongoing.
Sector two included one aerial appliance in operation, one firefighter wearing breathing apparatus (BA) under general observations utilised a high pressure hose reel, in addition to two ground monitors hot spotting the warehouse.
Sector four consisted of two ground monitors and one main jet in use.
Due to a change in wind speed and direction, a number of small pockets of fire reignited, with two firefighters in BA working quickly from the doorway of the warehouse to suppress the fire.
The tactical plan was updated and two firefighters in BA used one hose reel jet inside Locker Freight to prevent fire spread.
At 01.50 this morning, two firefighters in BA oversaw and periodically reassessed ground monitors and the fire break in sector one.
In sector two, one aerial appliance was used as a water tower to fight fire on the rubbish pile.
Two ground monitors and one hand held branch was used in sector four.
By 05.28, five ground monitors were in use across the site with two firefighters in BA periodically checking conditions at scene. One water tower was in use while hot spotting continued.
A multi-agency meeting took place at 09.30, with the following outcomes. Merseyside Police organised road closures on Ellis Ashton Street and Link Road. Knowsley Council are exploring options to commence excavation. A Building Control manager will attend to assess the structure of the building, and Environmental Health, the Environment Agency, and United Utilities, are continuing to monitor conditions at scene.
Firefighting operations have been temporarily suspended to allow for all electricity to be isolated.
UPDATE- Friday 5th July 11.00am
Fire crews have continued to fight the fire through the night and remain on scene dealing with this deep seated waste fire. 1 aerial appliance and 4 fire engines are in attendance.
Road closures remain in place on Link Road and Ellis Ashton Street with poor air quality in the area. Residents and businesses nearby should continue to keep doors and windows closed and if you must go out ensure you are not within a smoke filled area for any period of time. Residents with existing medical conditions should keep medicines nearby and if any ill effects are experienced dial NHS 111 for advice.
Excavators are in use removing piles of waste and placing them into areas full of water to completely douse the waste, with an aerial appliance and main branch hoses in use- the waste water is being pumped into the foul drains for onward treatment by United Utilities in agreement with the Environment Agency.
The incident is ongoing and likely to continue for some time.
UPDATE- Monday 8th July 12.45pm
Fire crews have continued to successfully fight the fire over the weekend.
Site staff utilised plant machinery to scatter rubble piles while crews continued to dampen down waste piles with hose reel jets.
By Sunday evening there were few signs of fire remaining and breathing apparatus was no longer in use.
Throughout Sunday night, various hotspots were identified and fought by firefighters wearing respirators and using hose reel jets.
The fire is extinguished, but one fire engine currently remains on scene monitoring temperature.