Select a region
Guernsey’s Fire and Rescue Service was “pushed to the very limits of its capability” by Friday’s incident, its Chief Officer has said.
Jon Le Page said Friday’s massive blaze at Guernsey Recycling saw a total deployment of 23 firefighters at its height. Everyone had performed well, he said, and this was an excellent example of joined up working.
“The fire at Bulwer Avenue on Friday 3 August pushed the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service to the limits of its capability and I am extremely proud of every member of my staff who worked very hard in challenging conditions to stop the serious fire spreading off-site. They were not however working alone and many others from other sectors of the States, as well as local businesses and members of the public, all assisted in bringing this fire to a safe and swift conclusion.
“We routinely exercise with others within the States of Guernsey for major incidents such as this. Although they are very infrequent, this incident is a timely reminder of why we prepare ourselves in this way. Initial reports are that the multi-agency collaboration during this incident was executed extremely well and no doubt played a part in the successful outcome.
“Our thoughts are with the staff of Guernsey Recycling and other nearby businesses in the area who were affected by this incident on Friday and we thank them for their patience and understanding, which assisted us greatly whilst dealing with this incident.”
As an example of said joined-up working, a fire engine and four firefighters from the airport were also involved in tackling the blaze. The team was escorted to Bulwer Avenue by Police, where they worked alongside the rest of the GFRS.
Above: An photograph taken by Martin Grey, that has become very-much the cover image of this incident.
Smoke from the inferno was visible as far away as Jersey, especially in the early stages, when thick, black smoke was billowing into the sky.
Guernsey Recycling Chairman Alan Crowe has also said “substantially less damage” was caused to the area than had initially feared. All employees were back at work, and the facility was looking at returning to full capacity within days.
“We are getting back on the ground. The damage was not as bad as first feared, we are open today [Monday] for private individuals and we will be back to normal as fast as possible.”
The amount of material destroyed was currently being assessed, he said, but the offices used by the company on site were mostly untouched.
“We have very good environmental protection systems, and just had some melted Perspex.”
Public Health update on "toxicity" of the smoke
Meanwhile, Public Health and the Office of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation has issued a further statement clarifying its position from Friday.
During the fire, people who live and work in the vicinity of Bulwer Avenue were told to keep their windows and doors closed, while a later warning said anyone with smoke over their properties should also stay indoors with windows and doors closed. That same statement from Public Health said the smoke - which had been black at the height of the fire - did not contain chemicals. But that was later questioned by members of the public.
“While the content of the smoke from the fire was acrid, as the burning material contained metal, plastics and a likely element of hydrocarbon material, the fire was not classified as a chemical fire," a spokesperson said.
"This was the intention of the message issued last Friday regarding the content of the smoke and simply sought to provide assurance to the public that chemical wastes had been ruled out as a component of the blaze. There was no intent by the States of Guernsey to mislead the public. As clear information became known about what material was ablaze, the message to the public was updated.
“The smoke plume which arose from the fire spread initially to the East of the Island before turning to the South through the course of the incident. This could therefore have been a potential issue for people with respiratory problems such as asthma, as would be the case from any incident involving significant release of smoke.”
Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service has released a list of facts about the blaze:
First calls about incident received by JESCC at 0913hrs
First Appliance on scene at 0923hrs
Fire declared as ‘contained’ at 1118hrs
Fire declared as ‘extinguished’ at 2236hrs
All crews left scene at 2321hrs, but two pumps and hose left in position for use during night if required
Two-man crew attended every 2 hours through the night to check for any re-ignition
Incident officially closed at 0947hrs on Saturday 4thAugust, when clear up crew left scene with remaining equipment
At height of incident there were two water tenders, two water carriers, a turntable ladder and a command support vehicle at the scene, with two water tenders, an emergency tender and a mini-water tender/off-road fire appliance, still available to be mobilised from the fire station for any further incidents.
The maximum number of Firefighters at the incident at one time was 23, which included a crew of four who assisted from the Airport Fire & Rescue Service.
A total of 18 off-duty Firefighters were required to be called back from their rest days to attend the incident.
Although a crew of five was maintained at the Fire Station to respond to any subsequent incident, if it had been significant or serious, extra staff would have been called to assist from the Airport Fire & Rescue Service (with the potential of closing the Airport), as all available personnel from the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service were in use.
Whilst the Bulwer Avenue incident was open, the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service was also dispatched by JESCC to attend two additional minor incidents.
Pictures: Thank you to all readers who provided images of the Fire.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.