Contractors dismantle recycling plant building to clear smoke after three day blaze

CONTRACTORS have been called in to dismantle a building that was the site of an 800-tonne waste material fire at a Cambridgeshire recycling plant this week, to help clear smoke from the site.

Six fire engines were dispatched to the Amey Cespa site on the A10 at Waterbeach on Easter Sunay morning when the fire was at its height, and by Tuesday afternoon one fire crew was still overseeing the ventilation of the site.

Crews from Cambridge, Cottenham, Papworth and Sutton were called to deal with the large scale incident, along with a command unit from Huntingdon, and firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to locate the fire.

At one time smoke was billowing across the A10 and the police were called.

The fire was in a steel-framed building, and teams of firefighters used breaking apparatus to tackle the fire.

After the operation was scaled back late on Sunday, three fire appliances remained on site through the night and firefighters continued to use breathing apparatus as they fought the fire.

In the early hours of Easter Monday, water carriers from Yaxley and Newmarket were called to the site, and by Tuesday morning one crew was left at the scene to continue extinguishing the fire and ventilating the property.

On Tuesday morning Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service reported that mechanical ventilation systems on site were unable to clear smoke from the building, and special fans were needed to create an air flow and improve conditions.

Contractors were on site Tuesday afternoon to remove panels on the site of the building.

Amey Cespa has been plagued with difficulties at the multi-million site where equipment failure has seen a massive machine called The Terminator put out of action. The fire is thought to have been in the same area where the faulty machinery would normally operate, but was unconnected to the fire.