UK scrap fire lingers for four days

Fire in Belfast, Northern Ireland, may have been caused by “accidental ignition.”

A fire at a scrap metal facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom, took parts of four days to extinguish, according to media reports and a regional fire department.

The Belfast-based Irish Post website says as many as 50 firefighters were on the scene at a Clearway Metal Recycling facility in Belfast starting Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, through Friday, Dec. 31.

On its website, Clearway describes its Belfast location as part of its Export Division. It is one of nine locations operated by Clearway in Ireland or the U.K.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has communicated via social media that “the cause of the fire is being treated as accidental ignition at this time.”

Accidental ignition could stem from several sources, but increasingly the presence of lithium-ion batteries in recyclable stockpiles has been identified as a culprit.