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Woodchip blaze disaster averted

Fire at the Cromarty Firth Industrial Estate
Fire at the Cromarty Firth Industrial Estate

Crews from five north fire stations battled an outbreak which destroyed 7,000 tonnes of wood chippings in Invergordon yesterday.

They were called to the Balcas Timber biomass plant on the town’s industrial estate, at 9.05am, with a water carrier from Inverness, and a welfare unit also deployed.

At its height, two appliances from Invergordon fire station, were backed up by units from Dingwall, Beauly, and Tain, as firefighters worked to contain the fire.

Fire at the Cromarty Firth Industrial Estate
Fire at the Cromarty Firth Industrial Estate

There were initial fears that it could spread to commercial properties nearby, as well as a timber yard also operated by Balcas, but this was averted. A nearby shed containing hay also remained intact.

An area covering almost 70ft, and 20ft high, of wood chippings was affected, with crews on the scene well into the evening before the all-clear was given.

Firefighters initially battled the blaze with a main jet and a hosereel jet and later used two further main jets.

Incident commander, Station Manager Alex McKinley, said: “The fire was threatening a large shed full of hay but we were able to protect that.

“We worked with heavy plant machinery supplied by the owners to turn the wood chippings over to ensure we gained access to any remaining hot spots.”

By 4pm, the crew from Tain, and one of the Invergordon units, were stood down, as the long labourous procedure continued to extinguish the outbreak.

Inverness-based station manager, Ricky Dibble, was one of those on duty and explained the difficulties faced by crews.

He said: “We had three main jets in use for many hours which, because of the unusual circumstances of the incident, were mainly being used in dampening down the area.

“It was bark which was burning after being spontaneously lit through a combination of heat and moisture, which caused a chemical reaction.

“It will have been smouldering under the surface and only spotted when it reached the surface, which meant we then had to scoop it out in stages and dampen it down.”

Fire crews remained on the scene until the stop message was relayed at