Birmingham fire: Hundreds face night without power as firefighters tackle huge Saltley scrap blaze
Tens of thousands of people were warned they would lose power overnight as firefighters continued to tackle a huge blaze at a scrap yard in Birmingham this afternoon.
Seventeen fire engines were at the recycling centre on Clarel Avenue in Birmingham, where 800 tonnes of metal and mixed plastic and rubber was alight.
West Midlands Fire Service said this evening that they had requested an electricity pylon be switched off at around 7.45pm as a safety measure.
That would leave, up to 40,000 homes in Yardley, Small Heath, Sparkbrook and Spark Hill without power overnight, the fire service said.
But Western Power Distribution later said that only 536 properties were affected, and that power should be restored at around midnight.
An incident room has been set up, and crews are expecting to be on the scene for a number of days.
Two aerial platforms, a high volume water pumping unit and a drone were all being used by West Midlands Fire Service, who were called just before 2.10pm.
In total the service received more than 100 emergency 999 calls.
Smoke could be seen for miles around Birmingham and people living in the area were advised to keep their windows and doors shut.
The fire service was liaising with Network Rail to monitor the impact of the fire on the several railway lines close to the blaze - the scrap yard lies between Adderley Park, Duddeston, Bordesley and Moor Street stations.
And by 6.15pm, the fire service said it was still working with police, ambulance, rail, environment agency and health officials to deal with the fallout from the blaze.
West Midlands Fire Service spokesman Neil Spencer said: "The smoke can be seen for some distance and people in areas affected by it are advised to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution for the time being.
"Motorists are asked to avoid the area."
