Fire leaves Halesowen waste site ‘unsafe’

This is the mangled wreckage left behind after a fire at a waste collection site.

Published May 8, 2021

Last updated May 8, 2021

The fire ripped through the building, leaving it on the verge of collapse

Smoke from the fire at the premises on Mucklow Hill, Halesowen, could still be seen drifting across the nearby Leasowes Country Park yesterday after the fire on Thursday evening.

The building hit by the fire at the back of the site has now been declared by West Midlands Fire Service as structurally unsafe, as well as full of asbestos.

When the fire broke out on Thursday at about 6pm it forced the closure of the busy Mucklow Hill causing traffic delays for commuters.

Fire officers managed to stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and a nature reserve

Watch commander Thomas Bell, from Woodgate Valley Cross fire station, said: “When we arrived we found a big pile of rubbish that was well alight.

"The whole of the back was well alight and was about 30m by 20m deep.

“The building has been classed now as a derelict shed and they are in the process of clearing the soil to get rid of all the rubbish at the landfill.”