Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

St Erth at 09/08/2016 07:30

At 2016 the first of multiple calls was received by fire control stating there was a large fire with thick black smoke coming from the recycling yard next to St Erth station. Further calls were received stating this was a very large fire which was now spreading rapidly.

Initially 2 pumps from St Ives and 1 from Hayle were mobilised, the first crews arriving on scene were faced with a significant fire and sent back a message stating “make pumps 5 large area well alight”. Further appliances from Penzance and Tolvaddon were sent to assist.

A request was instantly made to stop all trains coming into St Erth Station as crews needed to work on the railway line to fight the fire. Network Rail stopped all trains on the St Erth Line including the main lines and the St Ives branch line.

A further assistance message was quickly made to “make pumps 7” alongside a request for 2 aerial ladder platforms, 2 water carriers and a high volume pump from Newquay to attend.
Aerial ladder platforms from Truro and Newquay were mobilised, alongside water carriers from Helston and Wadebridge.
Crews were faced with a large recycling centre consisting of mainly tyres and other recyclable goods, measuring approx. 50 meters by 50 meters fully involved in fire. In addition to this a large diesel and oil tank are also involved. 8 breathing apparatus 2 main jets and 2 hose reel jets along with the aerial ladder platform are being used to fight the fire. A high volume pump from Newquay is also assisting to extinguish the fire. A bulk foam unit from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is also on scene, alongside a foam unit from Falmouth. Foam is now also being used on the incident.

Devon and Cornwall Police, Western power, Environment agency and Highways England all have representatives on scene. Emergency management and Public health England have also been informed and are assisting.

Residents in the local area have been advised to stay indoors and to make sure all windows and doors are closed . Motorists who have to travel through the smoke should keep windows closed, turn off air conditioning and keep their air vents closed.


Update 06:00- 09/08/2016
Crews have been working hard throughout the night and remain on scene fighting the fire. It is believed this incident will be ongoing. We will keep you updated with details of this incident.

Update at 1030 hours:
Appliances still in attendance at the scene are from St. Columb, Mullion, Penzance, Tolvaddon, Falmouth, Hayle and two from St. Ives, crews are continuing to apply foam to the incident. A multi-agency meeting is taking place at this time and a plan of action will be discussed, mechanical diggers are being sourced to assist at the scene in removal of flammable material and to allow access for crews to continue firefighting.

Update 1345 hours:
Appliances from St. Columb and Mullion have left the scene, being replaced by St. Keverne and Bodmin, crews are now undertaking a sustained 15 minute foam attack using an aerial ladder platform and specialist foam branch. The incident is ongoing.

UPDATE 22:40 09/08/2016
Cornwall Fire and Rescue service have five major appliances from Penzance, Tolvaddon, Helston, Padstow and Perranporth on the incident ground. Also on scene remain two aerial ladder platforms, two water carriers, a welfare vehicle and an incident command unit. The incident is being managed in three sectors. The incident is likely to be scaled back in the next few hours.

Update:
10/08/16 0730
Crews are still on scene working hard to fight the fire. A multiagency meeting took place at 0730 hours this morning, with representatives from South Western Ambulance Service, a rail liason officer, and the Fire Service. South West Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team are also providing support. There will be another multiagency meeting at 1000.

Update at 0100 hours 11/08/16:
The incident has been scaled down significantly at this time, three appliances remain on scene they are from Mevagissey, Falmouth and Tolvaddon as well as the high volume pump from Newquay, an aerial ladder platform from Newquay, command support from St. Just and the welfare vehicle from St. Dennis, the situation is being constantly monitored. Two JCB diggers that were in attendance will be returning to the scene at 0700 hours to carry on with excavation of the site under supervision of Fire & Rescue personnel. Relief appliances that are due to attend during the night will be from Penzance and Fowey.

Update 1545hrs 11/08/2016: Good progress has been made today. Fire crews from Tolvaddon, Penzance, Falmouth, Newquay, St Just and St Dennis are currently in attendance.

Update at 0400 hours 12/08/16:
The incident has significantly scaled down at this time, nearly all resources have returned to their home stations apart from one appliance from Falmouth which remains on scene monitoring the scene,The high volume pump crew from Newquay will be in attendance during the morning making up their kit, it is envisaged that Cornwall Fire & Rescue will leave the incident during the day.