Linwood fire drama as recycling plant goes up in flames with smoke seen for miles

Emergency services personnel remain on the scene today following a serious fire at an electrical and battery recycling treatment facility in Renfrewshire.

The dramatic blaze at the Enva site within the Linwood Industrial Estate began spewing out thick plumes of smoke around 9pm on Sunday night.

The pollution could be seen from as far away as the outskirts of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire.

The sound of explosions coming from the fire echoed around Linwood, Johnstone and Elderslie. One eyewitness told the Paisley Daily Express that the fire was “constantly popping” which was thought to be lithium batteries exploding.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) told local residents to remain indoors and keep windows and doors shut.

Motorists travelling through the area were advised not to open air vents or use air conditioning in response to the major incident.

Area commander David Murdoch said: “We continue to work with the recycling centre and partner agencies to minimise the disruption to the local community and will continue to provide updates.

“While smoke continues to be visible, we would ask that residents remain indoors and keep windows and doors closed as a precaution.

“If travelling through smoke, motorists should keep windows closed, turn off air conditioning and keep their air vents closed.”

There remained six fire engines and two height vehicles at the scene yesterday as crews worked hard to extinguish the blaze. All vehicle traffic onto Burnbrae Road was being blocked by police throughout the day.

Workers at SIG Roofing Linwood – which is located next to the Enva site – told the Paisley Daily Express they struggled to get into work.

An employee said: “We’ve only got a skeleton staff in, only a few of us managed to get in, and most were turned away. We had to walk in and get a police escort into work. There’s absolutely no vehicle in or out.”

The site was still producing plumes of pollution by midday and the worker added: “There’s still smoke coming off it. It’s smouldering – it smells really unpleasant.”

SFRS lifted its advice for people to keep windows and doors shut around 11am, insisting it was safe for them to venture outside again. There are no reported casualties at this stage.

Burnbrae Road was closed at the Linclive Interchange throughout yesterday as was the cycle path behind the industrial estate.

The Skyport car park that accommodates passengers out of Glasgow Airport, and which borders onto the Enva site, said its operation was unaffected and all customers’ motors were undamaged.

At its height, 10 fire appliances were mobilised to the scene after the alarm was raised at 9.12pm on Sunday, June 23, to reports of a fire in a commercial building on Burnbrae Road, Paisley.

There was a fire at the same location almost exactly two years ago on Thursday, June 16. A spokesperson from Enva told the Express it will be carrying out an immediate investigation into the cause of the blaze.

A statement said: “We can confirm that a fire was reported at 9.15pm (Sunday, June 23) at our WEEE Solutions e-waste facility in Linwood, Renfrewshire.

“Our emergency response procedure was immediately initiated and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are currently on site and dealing with the incident which has now been contained.

“We would like to apologise to local residents and businesses for any inconvenience caused and kindly ask them to follow any advice issued by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“There have been no injuries and the cause of the fire will be the subject of an immediate and thorough investigation. We will be contacting any customers impacted as soon as possible to ensure continuity of service.

“Our Linwood general waste recycling facility, whilst unaffected by the fire, will remain closed until the emergency services’ cordon is lifted and operational responsibility for the site is returned to Enva.

“We would like to thank the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the police for their extremely prompt and professional response.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is on site monitoring the wider environment and advising anybody to report environmental impacts to sepa.org.uk/report

Police Scotland says enquiries into the incident are ongoing. Renfrewshire Council has been contacted for comment.

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