South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
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Fire service thanks Kilnhurst residents following Wharf Road blaze

The fire service has thanked local residents for their patience following a large fire at a waste recycling site on Wharf Road, Kilnhurst.

The fire started at around 10am on Monday and at its height seven fire engines were involved in tackling the incident. The last firefighters left the incident early on Thursday morning and the incident has been closed.

Residents living close to the site were informed last night that smoke in the area had reduced and that they were free to return to their homes and to open doors and windows. If there is excess residue on surfaces, they were advised to rinse it off with water.

There is no longer substantial smoke in the area, but Public Health England advised that some of the substances present in smoke can irritate the lining of the air passages, the skin and the eyes. Respiratory symptoms include coughing and wheezing, breathlessness, sputum (phlegm) production and chest pain. If anyone is suffering from these symptoms, they should seek medical advice or call NHS 111.

A fire service investigation into the cause of the fire found that it had started accidentally. The site operates under an Environmental Permit issued by the Environment Agency that allows the processing of waste metal, waste cabling and electrical equipment for the purposes of recycling and recovery. The Environment Agency has stated that it will be working with the fire service and other local partners to consider whether any action needs to be taken by the operator to further improve the activities on site that are regulated by them. It has also advised the company about measures it is required to take to reduce the risk of fire on its site and will be reviewing the site’s fire prevention plan to ensure it is appropriate.

 

 

This content was last updated on May 11th, 2017