FIREFIGHTERS from Newton Abbot were among the crews who tackled a major fire at a recycling station in Exeter earlier today (Friday).

The Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) from Newton Abbot fire station was mobilised to Marsh Barton as part of a response to reports of a fire in a recycling centre.

At its height, this incident saw a total of eight pumping appliances as well as a variety of special appliances including two water bowsers, a thermal imaging drone and Newton’s own EPU.

According to Fire Control on arriving at the scene firefighters found three recycling bays containing domestic appliance waste were fully involved in fire, with a fourth bay under threat of fire spread.

Breathing apparatus-equipped firefighters were usingmultiple attack jets to tackle the fire and crews from the EPU used the equipment on board the vehicle to monitor wind speed and weather conditions, in order to best judge the direction and impact the vast smoke plume would have on the local area.

The crew also took into consideration the potential impact that firefighting operations may have on the local environment and took precautions to best contain the water runoff and divert it into the on site interceptor tanks.

Although an arduous incident, all crews on scene worked well together as always, and brought the incident to a swift and safe conclusion.