Major fire destroys industrial units in Basildon

A business industrial unit has been completely destroyed in Basildon, after it was on fire for nearly a week.

Warehouses that contained waste material for processing have been left as a burnt out shell, and nearby units of other businesses were also affected.

The fire broke out at the TLM recycling unit in Hovefields Avenue, Basildon in the early hours of Saturday 14th September.

Over 15 firefighter crews were dispatched to the incident over the first 24 hours of the blaze, with multiple firefighters hospitalised due to smoke inhalation.

Essex County Fire & Rescuse Service says it is the largest fire they have dealt with this year. Firefighters from Southend, Shoeburyness, Leigh-on-Sea, Rayleigh and many other stations helped to tackle the fire at various times.

Fire Service Area Manager, Craig McLellan, said: “The reason it took so long to extinguish the fire was because the warehouse had collapsed on top of about 5,000 tonnes of waste that was alight.

“We also needed to tackle the fire in a slow and steady way as not to increase the smoke levels more than necessary. The on-site staff have been instrumental in their commitment to working with us to help extinguish the fire and we appreciate everything they’ve done.

“Our thanks once again go to the local community and businesses for their patience while we tackled this fire.

“Five firefighters went to hospital as a precaution in the early hours of Saturday. They were checked over and observed for a few hours, but thankfully were given the all-clear.

“I am also pleased to share that as far as we are aware there have been no injuries or illnesses reported by residents to us or health partners that directly relate to the fire.

“Since the incident began we have worked really closely with partners to monitor the smoke, environmental and health issues and wider community support, and we’re grateful for everyone’s hard work. We expect this will continue to address any related clean up operations.”