Massive blaze at Tilbury Power Station ‘under control’

A huge blaze at Britain’s biggest biomass plant is finally being brought under control.

The fire at Tilbury Power Station, Essex, broke out early on Monday morning in a container holding wood pellets and machinery. At one stage around 120 firefighters were working on bringing the blaze under control.

A spokesman for the power station told Channel 4 News all of its employees have been accounted for and there were not any health and safety incidents. However, the station has been shut down while an investigation is carried out into the cause of the fire.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said firefighting efforts were hindered by the fact that the fire was high up in the building, making it difficult for crews to reach.

Chief Fire Officer David Johnson said it was one of the most challenging fires he has had to deal with in his 20-year career.

“The fire involves four to 6,000 tonnes of bio mass high up in the power station building. The fuel goes into vats and is taking into the plant on a conveyor belt”, he said on Monday morning.

Coincidentally, while fire crews were battling the blaze at the power station, another fire broke out close by in the nearby docks. The fire service said it had to call in crews from further afield to tackle this other fire.

Damage assessment

When Tilbury was first opened in 1969, it operated as a coal-fired power station. Only last year, it was converted to generate power from 100 per cent sustainable biomass. It is scheduled to close at the end of 2015, under the Large Combustion Plant Directive. This enforces strict environmental limits for all of the UK’s power stations.

Biomass plants, like Tilbury, burn wood pellets, which are generally made of compacted sawdust or other wastes from sawmilling and other manufactured wood products.

Kelly Brown, spokesperson for Tilbury Power Station told Channel 4 News the fire was not caused by the type of fuel being burned.

“The station has not changed dramatically since it was converted last year. It was a very simple rebuild. It is not a matter of fuel being the issue – it was more of an industrial accident.”

She added that the next step is for the power station is to assess the damage.

“Our primary concern is to get the damage repaired as quickly as possible. This is a really exciting project. It’s Europe’s biggest biomass plant and is very cutting edge. It’s leading the way in burning sustainable biomass fuels.”