Birmingham student’s car damaged after bins and rubbish bags are set alight in Selly Oak

A University of Birmingham student’s car has been damaged after bins and rubbish bags were set alight in Selly Oak

A fire broke out on Dawlish Road in the early hours of Friday morning (April 4th) after rubbish bags and refuse bins were set on fire. The blaze, which is believed to have been deliberate, was responded to by one fire engine from Bournbrook, which arrived within a few minutes of being called.

Fire burning down a fence

Local residents reported hearing explosions coming from the fire, but there were no injuries, and no residents have been harmed. However, property damage occurred, including to refuse bins, a garden fence, and a student’s car.

Students from nearby houses have expressed their concerns over the clean-up with one saying: “I am grateful the fire has been put out but the debris is covering the street. It’s dangerous for it to be left out, especially considering there’s a school across the road, but I doubt the council will clean it up.”

The student’s now fire damaged car

The blaze comes after WMFS issued a fire safety warning to residents due to the ongoing bin strike which is now entering its fifth week. The warning outlines the increased fire risks associated with rubbish piling up, urging locals to take care when storing uncollected waste.

The debris and rubbish left after the fire

A statement detailing the incident was released this morning by the West Midlands Fire Service after a request from The Birmingham Tab.

Most Read

Lily Phillips reveals how she copes when unattractive men show up to sleep with her

MAFS Australia PULLED off air forever as male cast members finally deemed ‘too toxic’ for TV

Lily Phillips details harsh truth of her ‘backdoor’ stunt, and the strict rules she had in place

A spokesperson said: “Shortly after 12.15am on Friday (4 April), we responded to Dawlish Road in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham.

“A fire engine from Bournbrook responded, arriving at the incident within four minutes of being mobilised.

“This incident involved several fires affecting refuse bins and a garden fence outside a residential property. ​A nearby car also sustained minor fire damage.​

“Two hose reels were used to extinguish the fires, that are believed to have been started deliberately. We left this incident at 12.51am after sharing incident details with police colleagues.”

Fire engine responding at the scene

This is not the first rubbish-related incident on Dawlish Road with multiple refuse bins having also melted. Piles of rubbish bags and overflowing bins can be seen on the street as residents become increasingly exacerbated.

Birmingham City Council declared a major incident on Monday 31st March to address the issues but there is still no end date for the strike.

Piles of rubbish left on the street due to the bin strikes

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council shared their latest statement with the Birmingham Tab:

“The council has a contingency plan using our limited resources to collect from all properties in the city once a week, but actions on the picket line have prevented us from doing this.

“The daily blocking of our depots by pickets has meant that we cannot get our vehicles out to collect waste from residents. Often, we can only get one vehicle out per hour.

“This has meant that to date around 17,000 tonnes of waste remains uncollected across the city.

“This has led to rising concerns of risks to public health and damage to our environment.

”The council is already working to an emergency plan.”

The rubbish has begun to be removed by the time of writing.