29 Oct 2012
An electrical fault is suspected of causing a blaze at a Lincolnshire recycling factory during the early hours of Thursday.
The Lincolnshire Echo reports that eight fire service crews were called at roughly 1am to deal with a fire at the Mid UK Recycling Ltd plant on Heath Lane, Caythorpe.
Crews spent a reported 33 hours putting out the flames and heavy machinery was used to put a fire break between the factory and the nearby buildings to stop the fire spreading any further.
Nearby residents were instructed to make sure their windows and doors were closed, although the smoke from the blaze was not thought to be hazardous.
The fire is the latest in a number to be reported at recycling factories in the last few months. There was also a large fire in Derbyshire last month that firefighters battled against for nine days before it went out.
Recycling factories and all other commercial properties in England and Wales must have a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessment carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The Responsible Person can be given an unlimited fine or imprisoned for as long as two years if the assessment is discovered to have been insufficiently conducted.
Copyright Press Association 2012