Lerwick bruck fire is out…hopefully
AFTER burning for more than 24 hours, it appears that the fire at Lerwick’s landfill site has been extinguished.
The fire at the Gremista waste dump was first reported on Wednesday, triggering a swift response from local fire crews who thought they had managed to put out the underground blaze that night.
However in the early hours of Thursday a fresh report of smoke and flames issuing forth from one of the waste pits brought fire crews back to the scene.
Working with council staff turning the rubbish with excavators, it took until after 5pm for the fire to be declared officially out.
Fire crews remain at the scene to damp down the site to ensure it does not flare up again.
Shetland Islands Council infrastructure director Maggie Sandison said that piles of refuse could become incredibly hot, and the strong winds over the past few days had sparked an underground fire deep down in one of the cells at the Lerwick landfill site.
She added that the council would be keeping a close eye on the site closely to ensure it did not flare up again.
“We will be monitoring the site over the next five to seven days this doesn’t turn into a fire situation again,” she said.
Sandison heaped praise upon the fire service and her own staff for their efforts to bring the burning bruck under control.
“I would say they have done very, very, very well to maintain the fire under control throughout both days. I think we have seen an excellent response from both the fire brigade and our staff,” she told BBC Radio Shetland.
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