Gardaí treat depot fire as suspicious

GARDAÍ are treating as suspicious the Lismore fire in a derelict environmental depot which raised health fears.

Residents of a new housing estate in Lismore were evacuated while people living on nearby streets were told to stay indoors and keep their windows closed as fears grew about the release of asbestos into the atmosphere because of the blaze.

Waterford County Council said yesterday initial tests of the roofing material on the recycling plant indicated that the risk was minimal.

And last night the EPA said they had carried out tests at six locations in the area and found no asbestos in the air.

The fire broke out at the former Sam Shire recycling facility in a local industrial estate, where it’s estimated up to 4,500 tonnes of waste has been discarded in recent years.

Firefighters from Lismore, Tallow, Cappoquin, and Dungarvan spent the early hours of yesterday morning bringing the situation under control although the building was still smouldering in the afternoon.

Gardaí told owners of the other units on the industrial estate not to open up yesterday morning amid fears about the release of asbestos dust.

Mayor of Lismore Cllr Jan Rotte said that if the wind was blowing in the other direction, as it was when a small fire broke out last week, the town would have had to have been evacuated because of potentially toxic fumes.

Mr Rotte voiced concerns about the disused site, used as an illegal dump since its closure three years ago, as recently as last week. “The whole town council has been looking for a solution because of a fear that it would go up in flames one day,” he said yesterday.

Sam Shire Recycling Ltd established the Lismore plant in 2001, when it was hailed as the solution to the county’s recycling needs.

However, it closed in 2005.

The recycling site and responsibility for cleaning it up is now the subject of ongoing litigation between Waterford County Council and Sam Shire.

The case was due to go before the High Court yesterday but was adjourned in light of the fire.

According to the council, the landowner had drawn up an acceptable programme of works which would have removed all of the waste within six months.

Close to a newly-built housing development, The Mills, the plant has become “a health hazard,” according to the mayor.

“You don’t have to go out at night to see rats, they are around during the day too,” he said.

It’s hoped that the pumping of water by the fire services onto the building would prevent the spread of asbestos dust into the air.

The Environmental Protection Agency was yesterday helping Waterford County Council with its investigations into the fire.

The EPA has been monitoring the site in recent years and had already advised the council to ensure that the site was adequately secured against trespassers, that a fire risk assessment be carried out and that the materials onsite be removed.

The Health and Safety Authority confirmed yesterday that it is monitoring the situation in Lismore.