Around 40 firefighters tackled a fire in a Sheffield-based waste recycling centre last night (Saturday 15 September).

Crews were first called at 8.20pm to the premises on Clement Street, Sheffield, in the Darnall area. Upon arrival they were faced with a building of around 50x30m and, inside, a number of tonnes worth of waste all well alight.

Firefighters, from a range of stations including Elm Lane, Parkway, Central, Rotherham, Birley Moor and Tankersley, tackled the blaze throughout the night – with the help of a aerial ladder platforms from Parkway and Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Chesterfield Fire station.

The incident was scaled down at around 1.30am this morning (Sunday 16 September) to four appliances, one aerial ladder platform and a high volume pump.

“Whilst there was fortunately no immediate life risk this was a large scale incident and crews have done a great job throughout the night to tackle the fire,” said Group Manager Steve Fletcher.

“The fire and burning that remains is within piles of waste and the next step will involve heavy plant machinery moving and breaking up the waste – so that we can get access to the fire to extinguish it.

“We’re hoping to make good progress this morning so we can bring this incident to a close, and reduce the impact on local residents, as soon as possible.”

A number of partner agencies have also been involved in the efforts overnight – including the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and South Yorkshire Police.