Fire crews tackle blaze at straw recycling plant

Firefighters prevented a blaze at a straw recycling facility in Tilbrook from escalating into a major incident.

Crews from St Neots, Sawtry and St Ives were called to a building fire in Station Road at about 4.30pm on Thursday (February 4).

A fire had broken out in a baler at a straw recycling facility.

Further crews were requested at 5.40pm and fire engines from Kimbolton and Papworth attended. Relief crews were also provided by Papworth, Ramsey, Huntingdon and a water carrier from Ramsey that assisted with the operation.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used hose reels and jets to extinguish the fire and assisted with removing some of the straw from the baler.

Station Commander Dave Lynch said: “This job had the potential to develop into something more significant if it wasn’t for the efforts and local knowledge of all the attending crews.

“Large amounts of straw needed to be moved manually and this work was completed by crews in breathing apparatus working in arduous conditions. Excellent collaboration between wholetime, on-call and tactical delivery group crews brought the job to a speedy conclusion.

“One significant factor was the knowledge the attending crews had of the factory, through previous incidents and visits. This allowed for a greater understanding of potential fire spread and hazards and in no doubt was a major contributory factor to the conclusion of this job.”

The fire was extinguished by 7.45pm.

The fire service said the blaze was accidental, caused by equipment.