Firefighters tackle canal bank blaze in Smethwick
Nine fire crews tackled a blaze on a canal embankment in Smethwick.
Published
The blaze happened just before the Fire Brigade Union staged industrial action yesterday evening.
It stretched for about 300 metres along the canal from Spon Lane South towards Smethwick town centre.
The canal runs parallel to a railway line, but the fire was on the other side of the waterway.
Nine fire engines were called out to the blaze at its height at about 4pm.
By 6pm the fire was out, although four crews remained on standby to keep watch of the smouldering vegetation.
Large areas of shrubbery have been left blackened by the blaze.
Earlier, crews had used a hydraulic platform and water pumped from the canal to tackle the flames. It is not yet known how the fire started.
