City inferno chaos

A MAJOR investigation is underway into claims radioactive waste was illegally stored in a warehouse which narrowly escaped destruction in a huge fire in Cork city yesterday.

The city fire brigade received an anonymous telephone call which prompted the radioactive alert in the midst of the emergency at the Millfield industrial complex in Blackpool.

“We took his call very seriously but, as there was no danger to the unit where it was alleged this radioactive material has been stored, we saw no reason to force the doors,” a spokesman for the fire brigade said.

He stressed that the fire authorities had no official documentation indicating that radioactive waste was being stored at the industrial unit. “So if it is there, as the caller suggested, then it is being stored illegally,” he added.

Today, environmental protection and fire safety officers will enter the locked unit where the radioactive waste was said to have been stored.

Last night, an even bigger concern was keeping the dying embers of the blaze away from the nearby Dulux factory in which gas tanks, stored paint and other volatile substances represented a major concern for the fire authorities.

A leading scientist has also warned that asbestos levels should be measured at the site of the fire before any clean-up operation gets underway.

Professor James Heffron of UCC biochemistry department expressed concern about hazardous pollutants which might have been created in the fire. The burning of plastics and bedding could have created dioxins in the air, he said.

Horrified workers watched yesterday as hundreds of jobs were lost in the blaze, one of the worst ever seen in Cork.

Twelve units of the fire brigade battled the blaze at the Refond group of textile businesses at the former Sunbeam plant on the city’s northside for several hours from lunchtime yesterday, leaving the rest of the city without emergency cover.

Smoke from the fire, which could be seen across the city, caused disruption to a number of flights at Cork Airport.

The blaze, which is believed to have started when fibres in a dye room caught fire, destroyed a large section of the complex, causing millions of euro worth of damage.

The future of more than 150 workers at Refond is uncertain, with staff awaiting a decision on the company’s future. However, hundreds of other jobs were saved after emergency crews prevented the fire from spreading to adjacent businesses.

Overall, up to 2,000 people are employed at the complex.

As workers fled the inferno, dozens of children in a crèche on the industrial estate were led to safety by assistants and parents.

The Cork Major Accident Emergency Plan was put into operation to close down nearby service stations, to reduce the risk of explosions. Residents and workers from neighbouring plants on the old Mallow Road were evacuated.

Technical experts will sift through the site today. Fire chiefs will also investigate the water pressure in the area after gardaí were forced to provide escorts to fire crews ferrying thousands of gallons of water to the inferno.

Deputy Noel O’Flynn claimed firemen were impeded by the limited supplies. “I’m demanding a full investigation by the city manager,” the northside TD said.