Huge plume of smoke as firefighters tackle industrial site blaze – BBC News

Updated 24 June 2024

Firefighters remain at the scene of a blaze at an industrial estate near Paisley in Renfrewshire.

Emergency services were called to the Enva electronic waste facility at about 21:00 on Sunday after residents reported hearing loud explosions.

Ten fire appliances attended Linwood Industrial Estate in Elderslie. Five appliances remained at the scene on Monday morning.

A large plume of smoke could be seen drifting from the site northwards towards Glasgow. There were no reports of any injuries.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have told people to avoid the area, but have said it is now safe for nearby residents to go outdoors, or leave their windows and doors open.

An eyewitness told BBC Scotland News he had at first thought the explosions had been people letting off fireworks while Scotland were playing Hungary in the Euros.

He added: “But then we looked out the window and saw this huge plume of smoke just drifting over from Johnstone, Elderslie towards Paisley.

“I went outside, had a look and just saw that clearly something had gone on fire in a pretty major way.

“Then there was about thirty minutes of just near continuous explosions. It did sound like guns going off or fireworks or something like that.”

The industrial area is less than four miles from Glasgow Airport. A spokesman said flights were not being affected by smoke from the fire.

The fire broke out at the Enva electronic waste facility within the industrial estate. A spokesperson for Enva said the incident has been contained and no one had been injured.

They said: “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.

“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.”

Burnbrae Road in Linwood remains closed at the Linclive Interchange due to the fire.