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Roads remain closed after recycling site fire

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Emma Baugh
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Reporting fromRushden
Steve Hubbard/BBC Large thick black smoke clouds with orange flame visible beneath. There is a boarded-up building to the right, and further small white buildings to the left. There are people standing in front of the fire, including one in a yellow hi-vis jacket.Steve Hubbard/BBC
The fire caused a huge plume of thick black smoke

An investigation is under way and roads are still closed after a huge fire at a recycling warehouse.

Fifteen crews tackled the blaze at the Monoworld recycling site on the Sanders Lodge industrial estate in Rushden on Friday morning.

The fire service told people to continue staying away from the area and to keep windows and doors closed.

Jim Dorrill, a group commander at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, told the BBC it was the largest blaze to happen in the county in a decade.

His crews managed to save much of the site, he said, and firefighters would remain there over the coming days to make sure "pockets" of fire were extinguished.

"We are really, really grateful for the local community, they have been really, really understanding."

The fire investigation will establish the cause of the blaze and whether it was started deliberately.

Thick black smoke could be seen rising over Rushden, and it was visible from neighbouring counties

Mick Berry, incident commander, added: "The messages that we said earlier about keeping doors and windows shut still remains.

"Please do avoid the area."

Steve Hubbard/BBC Bales of white-coloured waste stacked in five layers. Some of it is on fire and a huge black cloud of smoke is ascending from the fire. There is a warehouse building to the left with a brick ground floor and grey upper floor. There is a blue door. There is water on the yard between the building and the bales, with red hoses running across it.Steve Hubbard/BBC
The fire involved large quantities of plastic at a recycling warehouse

Jo Evans, who lives nearby, said her "heart goes out to the people" whose jobs had been affected by the fire.

She put out an appeal on social media for people to help her take refreshments to firefighters working on the site.

"The response I got from the community was amazing," said Ms Evans.

"We are just a small town, but to see such a wide variety of people coming together [from the emergency services], helping everybody, why can't we give back?"

Emma Baugh/BBC Jo Evans is looking directly at the camera and smiling. She has her hair pulled back into a ponytail and is wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt.Emma Baugh/BBC
Jo Evans said the response she got from the community in a bid to support the fire service was "amazing"

The road closures still in force on Saturday morning were the A45 slip roads on to and off Northampton Road, Ditchford Road and Masefield Drive.

Some parts of the Croyland business area were also closed off.

The Wellingborough and Rushden MP, Gen Kitchen, visited the site on Friday and said: "This was a shocking sight to wake up to this morning.

"I know local people are concerned about the impact of this fire so I was reassured by the presence of the Environment Agency at the site who have confirmed to me that they are monitoring potential pollution."

There were no reports of any injuries after Friday's fire.

Smoke from the site could be seen from several surrounding counties, including Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Emma Baugh/BBC Grey warehouse building to the right and blue two-storey factory to the left. There are trees in the foreground. Grey smoke is rising from the area behind the warehouse.Emma Baugh/BBC
Smoke was still rising from the site on Saturday morning

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