70 tonnes of white goods caught up in Darlaston recycling blaze
Twenty firefighters were helped by a drone as they battled a major blaze at a recycling centre in the Black Country.
Around 70 tonnes of electrical waste was involved in the fire at EMR Recycling in Bentley Road South, Darlaston.
Four fire engines and a hydraulic platform were sent to the scene after the fire broke out at around 9.30pm on Tuesday.
The cause of the blaze is believed to be accidental, a spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said.
The fire was under control by midnight and one crew returned early on Wednesday and confirmed the blaze was out.
West Midlands Fire Service urged people in the area to keep their doors and windows closed due to the smoke pouring from the fire.
Firefighters used a drone to identify the hotspots in the fire – as staff at the site helped separate the waste to douse the burning items.
Crews from Willenhall, Walsall, Wednesbury and Bilston were sent along.
A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "The call came through at around 9.32pm on Tuesday night to a metal recycling site in Bentley Road South, in Darlaston. A total of 20 firefighters were in attendance on four appliances from stations in Willenhall, Walsall, Wednesbury and Bilston. The first crew was on the scene in three minutes.
"We received a number of calls from members of the public for this incident – and some of them sent us photos and videos using our 999 Eye system which meant we could increase the number of crews we initially mobilised to tackle the fire more effectively and more quickly. We also used one of our new drones at this incident – so technology played a key role in our firefighting and assisted those on the ground.
"When crews arrived they discovered around 70 tonnes of white goods well alight – it was an area of around 10 metres by 10 metres. We also sent one of our hydraulic platforms to the scene and set up a water relay to use water from the local canal.
"There was a change in wind direction and as a result we issued a message to local people to keep their doors and windows shut as a precaution due to the smoke.
"The firefighters worked with some of the site staff who used machinery to break up what was burning to help the firefighting operation. Just before midnight crews reported that good progress was being made and by 12.30am we were scaling down resources.
"One crew revisited the site this morning [Wednesday] at around 7am and used a thermal imaging camera, as well as liaising with on-site staff – and they were confident the fire had not reignited and the incident was closed.
"The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental."
A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "We were called to a fire at a recycling plant in Heath Road, Darlaston at about 9.40pm yesterday [Tuesday] and assisted with traffic."
