Firefighters remain at the scene of a major blaze at a Ryde scrapyard almost 24 hours after the incident first began, with crews continuing to damp down smouldering shipping containers.
The large-scale response has been ongoing since the fire broke out off Smallbrook Lane yesterday morning (Wednesday), with firefighters working throughout the day and overnight to bring the incident under control.
This morning, a total of 6 monitoring jets remain in use to cool the affected containers, including 1 operating from the Aerial Ladder Platform, as crews continue to douse hotspots with water.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed that the incident involves 8 metal shipping containers, but a cause has not yet been disclosed.
At its height, firefighters from Ryde, Newport, Ventnor, Shanklin, Sandown, East Cowes and Freshwater were joined by mainland colleagues from Lymington, Emsworth and Eastleigh, with the Aerial Ladder Platform from Ryde – the only one now stationed on the Island – also deployed to the scene. Further appliances from the mainland, including Southsea, were mobilised to provide local fire cover.
WightSAR’s Drone Team were deployed yesterday afternoon to assist incident commanders by identifying remaining hotspots from above, helping crews target areas requiring further cooling.
A 200m safety cordon remains in place around the site and Smallbrook Lane continues to be closed in both directions, causing ongoing traffic disruption in the area. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and seek alternative routes while emergency services remain at the scene.
