Fire-hit recycling yard could reopen

Firefighters spent all day and most of the night on the scene, bringing the blaze under control and then making sure the affected area was cooled down and that there was no risk of another fire flaring up.

Guernsey Recycling staff were in attendance as usual on Saturday, although the yard was closed.

No staff member was prepared to comment officially, but one said that it was likely the business would be able to open today.

From the entrance to the yard, some of the company’s plant could be seen looking unscathed by the fire, which started just after 9am on Friday. Lithium batteries are the suspected cause.

Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service watch commander Matt Roger led a group of firefighters who returned to the scene on Saturday morning to collect the water tender that had been left there overnight, along with several hoses and a pump.

He estimated that some 40 fire hoses had been used to tackle the blaze.

Mr Roger said it was not until about midnight on Friday that crews left the yard.

But even then he said a crew returned every two hours with thermal imaging equipment. ‘They did spot checks throughout the night to make sure there were no hot spots,’ he said. ‘It was all cool.’

On Saturday, a further check was carried out, with a firefighter equipped with the thermal camera accompanying a Guernsey Recycling staff member around the site to satisfy both the service and staff that there were no hot areas.

‘As soon as we’re happy and he’s happy we’ll leave and they’ll start the mopping up process,’ said Mr Roger.

It was not long before hoses left out overnight were being rolled up and placed in a trailer, and a pump used to clear excess water during the operation was also removed.

The equipment used was all ferried back to the fire station, where it joined a pile from the previous day that needed to be cleaned of the oily detritus that had accumulated as firefighters battled the blaze.

The fire was one of the largest the island has seen in many years, and over the weekend many people continued to share photos they had taken of the pall of smoke as it had spread across the island.

Home Affairs president Deputy Mary Lowe was off the island at the time, but said she had been made aware of events as they unfolded.

She said that the actions of the Fire & Rescue Service and other agencies, including the police, showed how all the training they had undertaken on working together had come to fruition.

‘I thank all the staff involved for their professionalism in dealing with this fire,’ she said.