Incredible, there appears to be one every couple of years. The latest is a plastics factory located near to the BIP chemical works and adjacent to Trinity Street on the opposite side of the Titford canal.
I could see plumes of smoke from where I was and from the direction could guess that it was somewhere around Langley or the M5 area. Not another Rhodia fire I thought, but then the lack of air raid sirens going off counselled that it must be someplace else on fire on this occasion.
A fire engine on route to the scene
Large plumes of thick black smoke were billowing out as a police cordon closed off the road. With a diesel storage yard as well as the chemical factories nearby I would certainly not want to live on this road. A platform appliance hosed down on the roof of the building which is quite apparent has been a write off, if not the whole factory.
Unfortunately this scenario appears to be one repeating itself all too frequently in this area. You cannot mix industry with housing like this- it just doesn’t work, and one day people are going to be killed. As one set of amateur politicians serve their turn upon another they appear incapable of solving this issue, and for all the back slapping and talk of resilience working , one can only wonder where the next fire will be. It is beyond a fucking joke.
On the cut
Image from Bing Maps