Huge blaze breaks out at recycling plant

Telegraph

23-05-2025

A major incident was declared on Friday when firefighters were called to tackled a large blaze at a recycling warehouse.
More than a dozen fire crews tackled the fire for several hours at Sanders Lodge industrial estate, in Rushden, Northamptonshire.
Thick plumes of black smoke were visibile from miles away. Emergency services responded to the scene at about 6.30am on Friday, evacuating the area and blocking roads surrounding the plant.
Residents reported debris falling into their gardens and onto homes.
Crews from nearby Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service were on hand to help with the scene and are expected to stay in place over the weekend.
Mick Berry, the area manager for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'This is a large fire that is having a significant impact on the Sanders Lodge industrial estate in Rushden.
'A multi-agency decision has been taken to declare a major incident, but fire crews are working extremely hard to prevent the fire from spreading and reduce the smoke plume.
'We would urge people to stay away from the site while emergency services deal with this incident and ask nearby residents to close windows and doors due to the large amount of smoke issuing from the site.
'We anticipate that we will be on scene over the rest of the weekend, and we appreciate the impact this is having on local businesses on the estate and would like to thank them for their patience.'
The gas supply has been cut to the area while emergency services work with Cadent, the local provider, to keep over 500 homes working normally.
A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: 'We're supporting our Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service colleagues as they deal with the large fire which broke out earlier on Friday May 23 at Sanders Lodge industrial estate in Rushden.
'A number of road closures are currently in place to support public safety and emergency services activity.'