Tank fire in Tamworth
Published: 31st August 2010
Just after midday today fire crews in Tamworth were called to a 'water tank full of plastic balls' well alight, in Barnes St, Taminda, an industrial estate just on the outskirts of Tamworth. Fire crews arrived to find what they at first thought was a 60,000 litre fuel storage tank, completely involved in fire with heavy dense smoke coming from the tank. They discovered that what was actually on fire were thousands of plastic fish tank filtration units, about the size of a tennis ball, which were being stored in the former water tank. Fire crews from Tamworth and West Tamworth stations, assisted by three local RFS units, quickly got to work with hoselines, using foam to contain the fire to the original tank while preventing the fire spreading to neighbouring tanks. Due to the heavy, dense smoke given off by the burning plastic filtration units, it was deemed prudent to evacuate one hundred people from surrounding businesses. The fire took over two hours to bring under control and three hours before the fire was finally extinguished. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown but preliminary investigations indicate that it may have been started by a worker using welding equipment in close vicinity to the tank.