Huge Kidderminster blaze site still smouldering six weeks on
It has been almost six weeks since a severe blaze ripped through a Midland recycling plant – and smoke is still rising from the smouldering piles of waste inside the gutted building.
Two fire-ravaged warehouses are now being flattened as part of a £250,000 move to finally extinguish the fire at Lawrence Recycling, in Kidderminster.
Two warehouses at the plant, in Stourport Road, are being torn down using specialist equipment in the last-ditch scheme being funded by taxpayers' money.
The warehouse bays have been severely damaged by the fire which burned fiercely through piles of rubbish collected on site. The blaze broke out on June 16. Contractors from DSM Demolition used machinery fitted with hydraulic arms to begin pulling down the buildings yesterday.
Now demolition has started, sections of the smouldering waste can be removed from the buildings and doused to extinguish the fire.
Water used dousing this material will be collected and taken off site in tankers by the Environment Agency.
Crews from Hereford and Worcester Fire Service have been on stand-by to be called out to any major fire flare-ups. It is hoped that the fire will be fully out within days alongside demolition but an exact timescale remains unclear today.
Firm managing director, David Lawrence, today said: "We have looked at everything closely with the environment and health and safety in mind. There has been some water sprayed as mist over the waste so it is just a case there are any hot spots.
"They have started to demolish the buildings now. I'm pleased the work is under way. The waste has still be smouldering so the plan is to do the work stage by stage to clear the area."
The operation is being jointly carried out by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, the Environment Agency, Wyre Forest District Council and Worcester County Council.
