60 tonnes of industrial waste rags catch fire at West Bromwich factory

West Midlands Fire fighters have been tackling a severe fire at an industrial building on Bullock Street, West Bromwich involving 60 tonnes of industrial waste rags.

At 2:03 am on January 6, the severe fire was reported in a steel frame and metal-clad industrial building on Bullock Street. It was attended by eight firefighting crews, a hydraulic platform and supporting crews.

Local residents were requested to keep doors and windows shut as a precaution, but there is no immediate risk to the public from the smoke plume and run off water was contained on site.

Utility companies attended the site to isolate the electric and gas of the affected property. An onsite digger was used to remove affected material from the building to be extinguished and damped down.

West Midlands Fire Service crews had two main jets, one hose reel jet and a total of 13 breathing apparatus wearers tackling the blaze.

A spokesperson for WMFS said: “A fire service drone was also mobilised to the scene and used to carry out scene observations and assessments. A hazardous materials officer attended the incident and made an assessment of the materials involved.

“The incident was reduced to four crews at around 5:00 am. Just before 8am, the West Midlands Fire Service said that only a single crew is in attendance monitoring the site. A fire investigation officer attended the site and concluded the fire was of an accidental nature.”