In September 2013, a fire broke out at a former brickworks site being used as a carpet recycling factory in Thrunton, Northumberland. Five months on, the fire is still blazing and local MP Sir Alan Beith claims residents are suffering as a result of fumes and smoke.
However, extinguishing the fire is far from simple, which is why it has raged on for so long. Putting the fire out using conventional methods runs the risk of washing debris into the local water supply, which would cause health and environmental problems. As such, Northumberland Fire Service and the Environment Agency have been working to find a better way of extinguishing the flames.
When Sir Alan Beith questioned the Prime Minister on the blaze in January, Mr Cameron said, "My understanding is environmental concerns - in particular the waste might run off and pollute local water supplies - have hampered efforts to extinguish the fire. I understand the local recovery group is meeting later this week to see what more can be done to remove this waste and I’m happy to intervene on his behalf to make sure this makes progress."
The Environment Agency have since issued an enforcement notice on the owner of the land to remove the waste. This could not be done before because an enforcement notice can not be served unless the operator is able to comply, and the waste could not possibly be removed until the flames had gone out. Now that approximately two thirds of the fire has been put out, the enforcement notice requires the removal of the burned debris outside the premises.
The multi-agency group responsible for dealing with the fire said the landowner was working hard to tackle the fire, and stated, "Progress is good and following a multi-agency site visit last week, we estimate that about two thirds of the burning material has now been extinguished. Our current best estimate is that the fire could be extinguished in about three weeks, if the current rate of progress can be maintained."
For the time being, it looks like local residents may have to wait a little longer until they can be smoke and fire free.
