Major West Sussex village fire: Demolition works begin, fire service releases statement

Fire crews are set to remain at the scene of a major fire at a waste services site in West Sussex.

Friday August 30, the A259 was closed after a fire broke out at at a waste services site in Climping. Dramatic video footage showed fire crews attempting to tackle the raging flames and large amount of smoke on Friday. The road has since reopened.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s previous statement stated that one large building full of recycling and plant machinery was fully involved in the fire.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service provided an update on the incident. They said: “Fire crews will remain at the scene into the weekend and we have now entered the demolition phase of the incident. We will not stand down our resources until we are satisfied that the fire is completely extinguished and there is no risk of it re-igniting.

“We are in constant communication with our partners, such as the Environment Agency, UKHSA and public health to ensure that those with health and safety responsibilities are satisfied with the amount of smoke issuing from the site and that they have no concerns.”

A statement from the owners of the site of the waste plant in Climping was published on Facebook on Thursday, September 5. James Baird wrote: “Karen and I are the owners of the building that is the site of the waste plant in Climping.

"On Friday morning at approximately 10:30am we became aware that a fire had broken out at the facility, I was onsite within 3 minutes of being informed and was met with a scene that was truly shocking.

"Thankfully nobody was hurt in the incident, we spent the morning ensuring the site was evacuated safely, managing public access and communicating with tenants.

"We began the process of engagement with the West Sussex Fire Services and the Environment Agency to assist in any way we could to help with their efforts to bring the incident under control.

"We want to sincerely thank the Fire Brigade for their professionalism; as I write this the fire is not yet fully extinguished, as is evident by the smoke that continues to emanate from the building. We have frequent briefings; we are well informed and we support their requests for assistance.

"We want to thank the people who have given us messages of support. I have been following comments on Facebook and being residents ourselves we have experienced the unpleasant effects of smoke coming through our home.

"This is something that I personally feel particularly devastated about, that our neighbouring community has had to endure this. I am comforted that Public Health departments have been monitoring air quality and issuing advice to residents.

We will learn lessons from this fire.

"We really want to reassure the community that we are doing all we can to help bring this to a conclusion and thank you for your tolerance and understanding. We owe a huge debt of gratitude.”

On Saturday September 7, a spokesperson for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service revealed that the fire had now been put out.

They said “The fire at the waste services site in Climping is now out and we will be standing down all of our crews from the scene. We will continue to carry out a rolling reinspection of the site over the course of the weekend to ensure there are no further signs of reignition.

“We hope to hand the site back over to the responsible person on site on Monday. Thank you to all residents living nearby for your patience during this ongoing incident."

Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice