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Home » News & Events » 2013 » April » Update on Rotherwas fire

Update on Rotherwas fire

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The Service was called to Bathgate Flooring Ltd in Fir Lane just before 8am yesterday morning (Wednesday 17 April) and found a significant building fire which was generating a large smoke plume in the area.

Ten fire appliances were in attendance at the height of the incident, along with water carriers, the aerial ladder platform, a Command Support Unit and Incident Support Unit, and firefighters worked to tackle the fire throughout the day and night.

There are currently four appliances at the scene (from Bromyard, Ewyas Harold, Droitwich and Kidderminster), plus the Arial Ladder Platform from Hereford and water carriers from both Evesham and Ross-on-Wye.

Station Commander Sean Bailey from HWFRS said: “The fire, involving mostly chipboard, is still burning in one end of the building and crews are continuing to damp down.”

He explained that crews are being assisted by the Hereford-based recycling company Wye Valley Metals who are using their specialist vehicles (cranes with grab hooks and skip lorries) to help remove the structure and the contents of the building from the site. This process will continue throughout the day, and is likely to generate a significant amount of steam.

He added: “This steam could easily be mistaken for smoke, but we are expecting smoke levels in the area to be lower today.”

He confirmed that fire officers are also working with the owners of Bathgate Flooring Ltd and their insurers to help ensure that the business is back up and running as quickly as possible.