Date: 26th February, 2020
Time: 03:44
Description: We received the call at 03:44 this morning to reports of a fire at a scrap metal plant on St Georges Road, Dorchester. The fire involved around 60 tonnes of scrap metal and crews used hose reel jets and main hose lines to extinguish the fire. At the height of the incident we had eight fire engines, one aerial ladder platform and two water tenders at scene. Approximately 45 firefighters attended from stations which included Dorchester, Bridport, Beaminster, Weymouth, Bere Regis, Wareham and Poole.The stop message came in at 07:30 and one crew from Gillingham completed the final inspection at 09:19
Station Manager Graham Kewley who is investigating the cause of the fire said “At this stage we believe the fire to be accidental and the most likely cause was from a battery which had short-circuited within an electronic device. We would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that when they are disposing of electrical items which contain batteries, that these are removed from the device before taking to scrap metal sites. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service are working with the Environment Agency and site operators to prevent this type of fire and reduce the impact on the environment.”
Location: St.Georges Rd, Dorchester DT1, UK