Lancaster fire: Huge blaze rips through building containing 'commercial waste' with locals told to 'keep windows shut'

A major fire has been tearing through a building in Lancaster today (Sunday 3 December) causing “a large plume of smoke”. Ten fire engines from Lancashire and Cumbria have been called to the commercial building on Port Royal Avenue after it received reports of the building being on fire at 5am.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the large building which is on fire “contains commercial waste” and “firefighters are using specialist equipment such as aerial ladder platforms, a stinger and hazardous materials unit to bring the fire under control.” The service has advised people in the local area “to keep out of the smoke plume and keep windows and doors shut if they can see or smell smoke.”

It added that there have been “no injuries reported” and it is “working with partners to make the site safe.” At around 10am it posted on X, formerly known as Twitter it had “nine fire engines, two aerial ladder platforms, a stinger appliance, the hazard materials unit and the drone team” on the scene.

 In a video update posted at around 3pm, Ian Armistead, incident commander at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said they are “likely to be on the scene for a number of days working with our partners to resolve this incident. 

“We have a number of tactical plans that we are implementing to deal with it safely and effectively, and we are trying to reduce the impact to the communities as much as possible so we would appreciate as much patience as possible”. Europa Way road is currently closed off and people are advised to keep clear of the area.