Fire at Biffa in east Hull expected to smoulder for hours after building gutted
A fire at Biffa Waste Management on Stoneferry Road will continue to smoulder for hours warned firefighters after a building on the site was gutted by a blaze. The fire began last night (Friday, April 15) at around 9pm with five Humberside Fire and Rescue engines scrambled to the scene. Motorists were urged to avoid the area as smoke billowed out of the site and onto the roads.
That blanket of smoke has continued to drift, although in smaller amounts, across the industrial units nearby today. The fire service said they expect to be in attendance for a number of hours as the fire is managed. : Humberside Police officers clap back at critics after basketball game with local youths
A large building in the middle of the Biffa UK bailing plant on Stoneferry Road was the epicentre for the blaze. Dramatic pictures taken last night showed flames reaching the roof of the building and today the blackened exterior of vents and windows showed the ferocity of the fire. Some 80 tonnes of rubbish are said to have caught fire sometime on Friday evening with sections of the waste still burning into Saturday afternoon.
Fire crews established a 1km hose directly sourced in the River Hull to help tackle the flames.
Fire crews douse the piles of smouldering waste (Image: Hull Live)
That extensive hose was decommissioned on Saturday morning as the painstaking job of managing the fire began. Staff at Biffa used a truck to move smouldering rubbish from the affected building and dumped into piles outside where it is doused with water. Sections of the waste within the ravaged building are still on fire but this is being managed by fire crews.
The wind direction means that most of the smoke from the fire is blowing into an industrial, rather than residential, area. The remaining crew of 12 expect to be at the site for the majority of Saturday with some speculation the operation may enter a third day. Humberside Fire and Rescue Service wrote on social media earlier on Saturday: “At present Humberside Fire are dealing with an incident at Biffa UK Waste management site in Hull.
“There is quite a bit of smoke in the air. Can we remind people to keep windows and doors closed. Thank you.”
This is not the first time that the Biffa site has been the epicentre for a large fire.
In 2017 a total of 43 firefighters battled a blaze at the waste management centre in east Hull.
Seven fire engines were sent to the Biffa premises which deals with business, home and hazardous waste.
Then, a total of 60 tonnes non-hazardous waste was alight when crews arrived and Humberside Fire and Rescue Services warned nearby residents to keep their windows closed as acrid smoke spread across the area.