Dramatic drone footage shows massive blaze annihilate recycling plant

By Adam Dutton via SWNS

Dramatic drone footage shows a massive blaze tearing through a recycling plant warehouse after 8,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard caught fire.

More than 100 firefighters rushed to the scene after the huge inferno broke out at the Smurfit Kappa site in Nechells, Birmingham at 7.40 pm on Sunday (12/6).

West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident as crews battled throughout the night to bring the blaze under control.

The fire broke out after a large of amount of paper and cardboard bales caught alight and spread throughout the seven-acre site, closing several roads around the city.

Firefighters pumped a staggering 8,000 liters of water per minute from a nearby canal as they attempted to stop the spread of the flames.

There have been no reports of any injuries and crews are expected to remain at the scene for at least 48 hours.

Area Commander Sam Burton said: "We are dealing with a large-scale incident and we have 110 of our staff here on site.

"When we arrived on scene there was about 8,000 tonnes of compressed cardboard on fire. The on-site fire safety procedures helped us in our initial attack on the fire.

"We will be here for some time. If you live in the local area please keep your windows and doors closed as there is a large amount of smoke building up."

A West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "This incident involves a large amount of paper and cardboard bales on fire at a warehouse.

"At the height of the incident, we had more than 30 fire appliances in attendance - including two aerial hydraulic platforms, multiple fire engines, a high volume water pumping unit, and one of our drones.

"Crews from stations across the West Midlands are working extremely hard to tackle the blaze using main jets.

"We are working closely with Police and Ambulance colleagues, the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, and on-site staff, to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.

"There are no reports of any casualties.

"Our fire investigators will today be working to try to establish how the fire started.

"Firefighters have faced challenging conditions at the site, including the amount of smoke created.

"Staff in our fire control were pivotal in coordinating our response and resources.

"Part of our firefighting plan included use of our specialist high volume water pumping unit.

"At one stage this was pumping and relaying 8,000 litres of water per minute from a nearby canal."