Scrap yard fire
Firefighters were called to an incident at a scrap yard near Northwick Road in Canvey Island this afternoon.
Crews from Canvey, Basildon (two) and Rayleigh Weir were sent to the incident. On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a large amount of scrap vehicles and containers alight at the yard.
Incident Commander Russ Freeman said: “Firefighters have done a great job this afternoon to extinguish the fire and stop if from spreading further.
“Scrap yard fires are difficult to put out as there are lots of different oils and flammable materials involved.
“The occupier was cutting scrap close to some flammable materials which ignited. This then spread to the rest of the scrap yard, as well as another yard and a static caravan.”
The fire was extinguished by 2.39pm. A fire investigation was carried out and the cause was deemed to be accidental.
Our top tips to help scrap yard and storage yard owners reduce the risk of fires:
- Make sure you have a suitable Fire Risk Assessment
- Restrict height of waste materials stacks and maintain appropriate separation distances or firebreaks
- Maintain a good basic housekeeping, limit dust and material buildup that could act as fuel
- Isolate hazardous work such as shredding
- Install appropriate fire detection systems such as smoke, heat detectors or CCTV visual flame detection systems
- Where appropriate, install and maintain a fire suppression system
- Install and maintain appropriate firefighting equipment
- Ensure an adequate water supply is in place for firefighting
- Ensure high security and install CCTV on site to help stop deliberate fires
- Have appropriate emergency evacuation plans and ensure all your staff are aware