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Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service, supported by the island's Civil Protection Volunteers, remained at the scene of Friday's large fire on Bulwer Avenue for most of the night, only returning to the station shortly before midnight.
The road was closed at both ends to ensure the public stayed away from the area where the fire had burnt for hours after catching alight at around 09:00.That meant Guernsey's firefighters had been hard at work on the blaze for fourteen hours, supported by their colleagues at the Airport Fire Service, before the last of the crew were stood down.
After dealing with the "difficult fire all day" the work wasn't over though. The firefighters who remained on shift had to start the clean up, while an investigation into the cause of the blaze is also ongoing.
The efforts of every fireman, the other emergency services, and the civil protection volunteers, didn't go unappreciated by the public - with Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service publicly thanking everyone for their support.
While the cause of the fire is still not known, it was confirmed that the blaze had been at the Guernsey Metal yard where a number of scrap cars were being stored along with a number of other items.
Despite the thick black smoke which was seen for miles across the island, the States spokesperson for Public Health said the fire had not released any chemicals into the atmosphere.
"We believe the smoke, whilst acrid, does not contain chemicals. Anyone near the area or affected by the plume of smoke over their properties should stay inside and close all doors and windows. We are aware that islanders will be able to smell the smoke and with the plume continuing to dissipate to the east, expect this to reduce considerably over the next few hours."
Pictured: The fire captured by Stuart Carre's drone camera. His picture shows the close proximity of the fire to the Longue Hougue reservoir and the islands fuel storage sites
The fire had caught alight near to one of the island's largest water storage areas. Guernsey Water said it took the precautionary measure of stopping the use of water from the Longue Hougue reservoir until further notice.
The utility firm said no one was at risk from the water being contaminated but the short term shut down was agreed early on as a precaution.
"The isolation of the reservoir means there is no risk to the island’s drinking water," a spokesperson said. "Supplies are continuing to be met from the other reservoirs and the King’s Mills and St Saviour’s treatment works.
"Longue Hougue is expected to return to normal service within 24 hours, once samples have been tested."
While the smoke was described as not containing chemicals, some debris from the fire had blown onto the reservoir but it was not considered dangerous.
"A team from Guernsey Water was on site within minutes of the first fire reports, to assess the situation and provide pollution prevention support to the firefighters from Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service.
"Some small debris has blown onto the reservoir but has been isolated. This is believed to be soot from the fire, which would not be expected to cause water contamination. The debris is thought to rest on the surface and has been isolated using a floating boom."
Water quality risk manager Margaret McGuinness said appropriate precautionary measures had been taken.
“With incidents such as this obviously the first priority is to protect life and then property. From Guernsey Water’s perspective, the next priority is protection of the water supply. We work very closely with the emergency services, to provide support and advice, and we have pollution prevention plans in place which are regularly reviewed and tested."
She said they could reassure the public that "there is no impact on the drinking water.”
Ms McGuinness said, “We are fortunate that in this instance the Longue Hougue Reservoir appears to have escaped a serious pollution incident, in part due to the protection installed within the recycling yard. Nevertheless, as a precaution we made a very early decision to take Longue Hougue offline, and we are now awaiting the results of some samples before bringing the supply back on."
Pictured top: Civil Protection Volunteers at the scene of the fire
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