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Severe fire at Birmingham Smurfit Kappa paper mill Severe fire at Birmingham Smurfit Kappa paper mill
(about 1 hour later)
About 10,000 tonnes of cardboard are on fire at a paper mill in Birmingham. Tens of thousands of tonnes of cardboard is on fire at a paper mill in Birmingham.
West Midlands Fire Service said more than 15 fire engines were at the Smurfit Kappa plant, a mill for recycled packaging, in Nechells. Twenty fire crews remain at the Smurfit Kappa plant, a mill for recycled packaging, in Nechells.
About 100 firefighters remain at the scene of the blaze in Mount Street, which broke out shortly after 22:00 BST on Wednesday. More than 70 firefighters are tackling the blaze in Mount Street, which broke out at about 22:00 BST on Wednesday, and 100 were at the scene overnight.
The fire service said no-one has been injured and the fire was now contained to the seven-acre yard of the site. The fire service said no-one had been injured and the fire was now confined to a seven-acre area at the site.
But the tens of thousands of tonnes of cardboard was expected to keep burning for days at the site near the M6 motorway.
Station commander Mal Fellows said the service had help from a police helicopter to keep the fire under control.Station commander Mal Fellows said the service had help from a police helicopter to keep the fire under control.
"It's been particularly difficult due to the high winds and the size of the site."It's been particularly difficult due to the high winds and the size of the site.
"We're pretty sure we've actually contained this within the boundary.
"There is a good fire plan at Kappa but we've put crews in place to stop the fire spreading.
"We've had small fires throughout the night from burning embers but we've been spotting those and we utilised the police helicopter to spot these which has been a great asset for us," he said."We've had small fires throughout the night from burning embers but we've been spotting those and we utilised the police helicopter to spot these which has been a great asset for us," he said.
West Midlands Police said it had monitoring the fire due to its proximity to the M6, but reported no smoke-related problems on the motorway. A police cordon remained in place around the industrial and residential area on Thursday.
Nearby residents are being advised to keep windows closed as a precaution, but there is thought to be no risk from the smoke and ash. The A47 Heartlands Parkway was closed in both directions between the B4114 Saltley Viaduct/Mainstream Way and B4137 Cuckoo Road.
Police said the A47 Heartlands Parkway remained closed between the junctions with Saltley Road and Cuckoo Road. West Midlands Police said it had been monitoring the fire due to its proximity to the M6, but reported no smoke-related problems on the motorway.
Part of Aston Church Road is also shut and many routes close by have experienced congestion as motorists look for alternative routes. Mr Fellows said residents to the north and west of the blaze were being advised to keep their windows closed to keep out the ash, but added there were no toxic fumes and no health risk to people living nearby.
He said the fire was under control but the difficulty was in getting water to the flames deep within the cardboard bales.
Mr Fellows said: "It's still blazing but it is slowing down.
"The good thing is the site is intact, we've protected the buildings and the company had a good fire plan operating which has helped us."
Carl Mcguire, manager of M&M Steel Stock on nearby Trevor Street, said the fire had prevented him from accessing the company's offices.Carl Mcguire, manager of M&M Steel Stock on nearby Trevor Street, said the fire had prevented him from accessing the company's offices.
Mr Mcguire said: "Obviously we're faced with the situation now where we've had to tell all the lads to go home.Mr Mcguire said: "Obviously we're faced with the situation now where we've had to tell all the lads to go home.
"We've got customers expecting deliveries today which unfortunately are not going to happen. "We've got customers expecting deliveries today which unfortunately are not going to happen."
"Our difficult thing now is trying to contact BT to divert the calls so that at least we can contact the customers to tell them because at the minute we've got no access to the offices."