A fire chief at the scene of a huge recycling plant fire has thanked the local community for their patience.
Fire crews have been at the scene of the incident at the Suez recycling centre in Altens for more than 40 hours, with operations still ongoing.
Three appliances remain on scene while crews monitor and dampen down the area.
The appliances are from Aberdeen, along with a water carrier from Dundee.
Some residents of Cove lost their water supply due to the amount being used by crews, with thick smoke also engulfing their homes and roads.
Water is now being pumped from the harbour.
Speaking from the scene today, area commander Matt Mason said: “We’ve been in attendance since late Friday afternoon fighting a large scale fire.
“We’re still in attendance today with three fire crews, one aerial lander platform vehicle and a high volume pump.
“The smoke is starting to dissipate now and we are pumping from open water to try and be as sustainable as possible.
“We’d like to thank local people in the community, we appreciate there’s been some disruption in terms of water supply, smoke in the area and on roadways.
“We appreciate their patience and we’re working really hard to resolve the incident as quickly as possible.”
Back out at Altens recycling centre where firefighters are now using a height platform to spray the roof of the building. The smoke has definitely calmed down. pic.twitter.com/HqoQtPntgN
— Lauren Taylor (@ltaylor_DCT) July 10, 2022
Effort ongoing
The alarm was raised at about 4.30pm on Friday and crews managed to extinguish the blaze just after 10pm. Firefighters stayed at the scene to ensure the area was safe.
It took hold again just after midnight, sparking a huge emergency response.
Around 24 appliances and over 100 firefighters were at the centre on Hareness Place at the incident’s peak.
Mr Mason also thanks the police, paramedics, Aberdeen City Council and charity Rapid Relief Team for their support.
“As I say operations are ongoing, we’re reviewing constantly with the site owners to resolve the incident as soon as possible,” he said.
“Our crews in particular have been working extremely hard on site on what has been a very challenging incident.”
Firefighters will remain on site throughout the day to ensure the fire is completely out before it is handed back to Suez.
Sections of Coast Road and Hareness Place remain closed.
The Port of Aberdeen has advised residents of Torry that commercial traffic for the project is currently being diverted through the area as a result.
Mr Mason moved to reassure the public that despite the huge incident, the rest of Aberdeen has been covered throughout.
“Despite the large scale incident, we’ve been able to maintain operational cover from fire and rescue service throughout Aberdeen City while the operation has been going on,” he said.
There have been no reported injuries.
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