Chichester tip fire: Investigation into cause of blaze is ongoing

The fire service confirmed this morning that the fire at the Westhampnett tip, which broke out on Monday night, was now out.

SEE MORE: Crews attend large fire at Chichester tip

A spokesman said on Twitter: “Local residents may seem steam rising as the waste material cools down.

“Thank you to residents for their patience as we have dealt with this incident over the last couple of days.”

Four crews were sent to tackle a fire involving around 200 tonnes of recycling at 6pm on Monday evening.

Plumes of smoke were visible from the A27 and nearby residents were warned to close their windows and doors.

Firefighters worked throughout the day at the site on Tuesday before finally leaving the scene this morning.

SEE MORE: Chichester fire: Photos show large blaze at Westhampnett tip

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, and the fire service confirmed that police were not involved at this stage.

The fire started and was contained in an external concrete bay, where fire detection and suppression systems associated with buildings are not installed, the spokesman confirmed.

The Household Waste Recycling Site in Westhampnett is closed and is likely to remain closed until at least Saturday, the council has said.

The sites at Bognor Regis and Littlehampton will be open every day to accept waste.

Chichester District Council confirmed its depot site had not been affected by the fire and that all of its services continued to be delivered as normal.

The fire is the third to affect the Westhampnett tip in the last 10 months, but the fire service said there was ‘no evidence at this time linking this fire to any previous incidents’ – including the fire at a nearby industrial unit last week.

The cause of a fire in April 2019 at the site is unknown, while the second fire in May 2019 was traced to an electrical fault on a parked vehicle, a spokesman said.

However, the spokesman said that the incorrect disposal of lithium ion batteries were a frequent cause of waste fires.

“Lithium ion batteries are found in items as small as eCigarettes and children’s toys and we encourage the public to be very careful to dispose of those responsibly and separately as waste electrical equipment,” said the spokesman.

SEE MORE: Chichester tip fire: Crews remain at scene as blaze ongoing