Man arrested after major fire at Lune Industrial Estate has continued for 10 days

Local schools are being advised to stay indoors as smoke remains at the site

11 months ago

10 fire engines from Lancashire and Cumbria were called to Port Royal Avenue on the 3rd December after a “visible smoke plume” was spotted at a former SupaSkips site, according to Lancashire Fire and Rescue. This takes place after a major fire at a commercial waste building in Lane Industrial Estate has left fire services working to manage the fire for 10 days. A 36-year-old man was arrested on 6th December, on suspicion of arson and has since been released on bail while enquiries continue. No injuries were reported. Europa Way, a road nearby the fire, was temporarily shut as fire services worked to stop the fire. At 1.30pm on Tuesday 5th December, firefighting operations were still continuing. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service released a statement saying: “The seat of the fire is beneath large quantities of compact commercial waste and pockets of fire can continue to smoulder deep within the piles for along time. Emergency operations [are] expected to continue for several days.” For several months the site has been a part of ongoing legal action by the Environment Agency after SupaSkips went into administration. Lancaster City Council were having regular high level planning meetings with Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Lancashire Constabulary and Lancashire City Council related to the site, due to concerns about the building’s safety. The plans made in these meetings were put into place when the fire broke out. Fire services and other agencies are still working on the fire’s aftermath almost a week after it began, and local residents are still being advised to stay indoors where possible to avoid the smoke from the fire. Lucy Naylor, head teacher at Willow Lane Primary School said in a statement to Beyond Radio that are still being asked to keep children indoors with concerns about smoke inhalation remaining four days after the fire began. The school is about half a mile from the former SupaSkips site. On the 7th December, Lancaster City Council said that they would pay up to £262,000 towards the cost of demolishing outbuildings at the site in order to “improve access for firefighters tackling the blaze.” No further information about the recent arrest has been released. Featured images via Lancaster Guardian website and BBC News website.