'Horrific' fire at waste facility in Linwood has caused 'worry' in community, say councillors

A "horrific" fire that erupted at a waste treatment facility in Linwood on Sunday night has caused "worry" in the community, elected members have said.

Renfrewshire councillors reacted to the "scary" blaze at Enva's WEEE Solutions site in the industrial estate on Burnbrae Road as they were updated on the incident at Thursday's full council summit. They were told by Gordon McNeil, the local authority's director of environment, housing and infrastructure, there has been "no reported injuries or casualties to date" as a result of the fire.

He said it had broken out at the waste electrical and electronic equipment shed which contained items such as metals and batteries. Councillor Eddie Devine, who represents Paisley Southeast, raised specific concerns about "fire control" at the site.

He said: "Whatever it was – if they have any – it's certainly not good enough because I could watch it from my house and I'm sure the provost could see it from her house. I was watching things flying through the air and exploding in the air and we're asking firefighters to go in there at public cost, so I hope when it comes to looking at this they're told – and other companies are told – they need to up their game. This isn't good enough.

"It's not the first time we've had this type of thing happen in Renfrewshire...and we as the public are left to pick up the cost; and again, I must stress the lives of fire officers going in there – that must have been scary."

Provost Lorraine Cameron, an SNP representative for Paisley Southwest, responded: "Obviously you all know my son is a paramedic and he works for the special operations response team and it's that team that responds to incidents like that. I have to say, my first thought that evening was is my son there? It looked horrific and very dangerous.

"We are concerned about the public too and obviously concerned that the safety of the actual plant itself may not be what we think it was. I'm trying to say it as politely and non-aggressively as I can but that's the word out on the street, too, people are worried about the safety of this place."

Councillor Robert Innes, an SNP representative for Houston, Crosslee and Linwood, said: "It was pretty horrific on Sunday night. I thought it was fireworks going off for the football but it wasn't. I could see it in Bridge of Weir."

Enva previously said the blaze will be the subject of "an immediate and thorough investigation". On Thursday, it released a statement adding that Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had handed control of the facility back to the company.

Responding to councillors, Mr McNeil said: "Obviously members have expressed concerns and questions they're wanting answers for, that's really helpful. I'll ensure all those points that have been raised by all the councillors are fed into that review...and ensure these are the sort of questions that the council is requiring clarity and information on to provide confidence to themselves and constituents."

When contacted by the Paisley Daily Express, an Enva spokesperson said: "Firstly, we would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has supported us since Sunday evening, most notably Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland. The WEEE Solutions business is fully licensed and regulated by the relevant authorities and was operating in accordance with its licence at the time of the fire.

"We would also like to restate our sincere apology to local residents and businesses that have been impacted and thank them for their understanding. We recognise our responsibility as a neighbour and local employer and that this has been a difficult time for everyone involved. We are fully cooperating with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and other authorities in their investigations."

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