Three-day industrial site blaze “potential risk” to nearby river

A HUGE blaze at a Huddersfield industrial site could pose a “potential risk” to the River Holme said the Environment Agency, as firefighters struggled for more than two days to get it under control.

The fire, which started at around 5pm on Thursday 18 August was still ongoing on Saturday (21 August)

The Huddersfield Examiner said that crews had to maintain a constant presence there to prevent the fire, which was started in a waste pile at Queens Mill Road.

The road was closed at the Hunters Waste Management site which now has owners listed as Sam H Services, and around 200 residents lost access to water last week.

Now, the Environment Agency has said that although the waste that was burning is non-hazardous, mixed household waste, there was risk from fire water run-off into the sewers and river.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency is working with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue in response to the fire at the waste site known as Hunters, in Huddersfield. The waste that is burning is non-hazardous, mixed household waste.

“Our officers are on site, assessing the potential impact on the environment, including that posed by the fire water run-off. It appears that most of the run-off is entering the foul sewer, but there is a potential risk to the nearby River Holme, so we are investigating this risk further and will consider taking protective measures, if required. We will continue to actively monitor the situation on site.”