# Leeds is on fire



## Dogsauce (Apr 21, 2014)

Massive blaze this morning on Armley Rd, behind the Albion Pub and next to the canal, about half a mile out of the centre.  Just going to bed at 2am and heard a series of loud, hollow sounding explosions - like a tyre exploding on a burning car rather than fireworks.  After the fifth boom I assumed it wasn't a car being burnt out nearby and set off to investigate - it was about a mile and a half away in an industrial area, a place used to clean out chemical drums, but possibly other businesses involved as well, several acres ablaze, fire brigade not able to do much, expecially with continuing explosions.

Shakycam footage, before the police cleared everyone off the footbridge:


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## Miss Caphat (Apr 21, 2014)

Jesus  

hope everyone's ok


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## Dogsauce (Apr 21, 2014)

Industrial premises at 2am on a bank holiday - no reason anyone would be there (not a 24hr kind of business). I did bump into someone who'd been in a club that's right next to the site, they were evacuated and everyone was running screaming down the road with explosions going off in the background (lots of chemical drums going off), he said it was like a zombie movie! All safe.


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## Greebo (Apr 21, 2014)

Dogsauce said:


> <snip> All safe.


Good to know - thanks for the update.


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## Quartz (Apr 21, 2014)

Dogsauce said:


> Industrial premises at 2am on a bank holiday - no reason anyone would be there (not a 24hr kind of business).



What about night security?


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## farmerbarleymow (Apr 21, 2014)

What's the latest on this Dogsauce?  Hope it has been contained and no-one has been hurt during the night.


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## Fez909 (Apr 21, 2014)

Dogsauce said:


> Industrial premises at 2am on a bank holiday - no reason anyone would be there (not a 24hr kind of business). I did bump into someone who'd been in a club that's right next to the site, they were evacuated and everyone was running screaming down the road with explosions going off in the background (lots of chemical drums going off), he said it was like a zombie movie! All safe.


Was that Mono Cult? I was meant to be going there. Glad I didn't now!


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## Citizen66 (Apr 21, 2014)

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-27099905


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## Dogsauce (Apr 21, 2014)

It's a place that cleans and reprocesses old chemical drums, a dirty, marginal industry. Night security is probably unlikely, these places aren't usually awash with cash. Still smouldering away and Armley Town St. is quite stinky.


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## machine cat (Apr 23, 2014)

There has been a massive discharge of chemicals into the canal and now the Aire.   My colleagues have been trying to let the moribund fish out of the locks but it isn't looking good 

 There are thousands of fish dead. Tradpak is still burning and chemicals running into the watercourse. 

I have been horrified by the things I've had to witness today. If you think the initial fire was bad, the aftermath is so much worse.


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## Treacle Toes (Apr 23, 2014)




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## Dogsauce (Apr 23, 2014)

Cycled along the canal on the way home this evening and saw it was still burning (actual flames, not just smouldering). Saw a lot of dead fish in the canal from the ring road up to the first lock (think they might have scraped out the next section as no floating debris at all).  Shitter that it's now got into the Aire, at least in the canal it was contained to some extent.  I know there's some kind of overflow sluice into the Aire a bit further downstream - is that where it's getting in or is it migrating via the groundwater beneath the canal?  Somewhere along there (beneath the old Greenwood & Batley factory, wherever that was) are large underground tanks that were used for testing torpedoes when the site was a munitions factory in WW1 - a friend used to work at Greenbat & said they were still there.

A big mess, I guess a lot of chemical residue got flushed into the canal by the firefighting water. They were abstracting water directly from the canal to fight the fire when I was down there on the night.

Hope the ducks and swans are OK. There's also otters not a million miles away from that stretch of the Aire.

One of the really surreal bits was that while it was burning next to the canal on the night, about 30m further up the canal there were a couple of swans doing a courtship dance, mirroring each others head-bobbing, gliding along silently on the orange water with this apocalyptic backdrop.  Strangely beautiful.


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## bubblesmcgrath (Apr 23, 2014)

That's awful. ...

But when I read the thread title I was sure it was going to be about soccer


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## Dogsauce (Apr 23, 2014)

Some pretty amazing photos from the fire service of the aftermath on this article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-27133959

Huge mess.  Incredible how they managed to contain it as they did, especially given how close the adjoining buildings are.


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## farmerbarleymow (Apr 23, 2014)

Poor fish, birds and water mammals. I hope the damage isn't too bad and they'll recover.


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## machine cat (Apr 24, 2014)

Dogsauce said:


> Cycled along the canal on the way home this evening and saw it was still burning (actual flames, not just smouldering). Saw a lot of dead fish in the canal from the ring road up to the first lock (think they might have scraped out the next section as no floating debris at all).  Shitter that it's now got into the Aire, at least in the canal it was contained to some extent.  I know there's some kind of overflow sluice into the Aire a bit further downstream - is that where it's getting in or is it migrating via the groundwater beneath the canal?  Somewhere along there (beneath the old Greenwood & Batley factory, wherever that was) are large underground tanks that were used for testing torpedoes when the site was a munitions factory in WW1 - a friend used to work at Greenbat & said they were still there.
> 
> A big mess, I guess a lot of chemical residue got flushed into the canal by the firefighting water. They were abstracting water directly from the canal to fight the fire when I was down there on the night.
> 
> ...



It's getting into the Aire through the lock at Granary Wharf. 

I'm on my way to work so should have an update on the extent of the damage shortly.


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## machine cat (Apr 24, 2014)

Update: The majority of the dead fish have been removed from the canal, but there are still lots struggling. 

Fortunately there seems to be little impact on the river, although chemicals are still making their way in there.

 The site is still on fire, but should be put out soon. Still no word on what caused it though.


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## crustychick (Apr 24, 2014)

crikey - still on fire  

what a tragedy for the wildlife


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## kittyP (Apr 24, 2014)

It's still on fire


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## machine cat (Apr 24, 2014)

crustychick said:


> crikey - still on fire
> 
> what a tragedy for the wildlife





kittyP said:


> It's still on fire



Fires at sites like this take ages to put out.

This one in Sherburn-In-Elmet started in January and is still burning today:


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## kittyP (Apr 24, 2014)

machine cat said:


> Fires at sites like this take ages to put out.
> 
> This one in Sherburn-In-Elmet started in January and is still burning today:



Fuck!


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## amonkeyscousin? (Apr 24, 2014)

I jumped to the assumption it was elland road, never mind eh.


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## machine cat (Apr 24, 2014)

Oh, and on the wildlife... it has mainly been small fish (still not good obviously), although I did see moribund Bream, Pike and Tench. A lot more smaller fish too seemed to have survived. The ducks didn't seem bothered at all 

The Canal and River Trust have been pumping fresh water into the affected area so it looks like that has helped considerably.


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## Fez909 (Apr 25, 2014)

It's hard to make out on this pic but I could see the smoke from my bus stop this morning


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## Barking_Mad (Apr 27, 2014)

Fez909 said:


> It's hard to make out on this pic but I could see the smoke from my bus stop this morning



Burley Road opposite One Stop?


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## Fez909 (Apr 27, 2014)

Barking_Mad said:


> Burley Road opposite One Stop?


Yep.


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## pogofish (Apr 28, 2014)

machine cat said:


> There has been a massive discharge of chemicals into the canal and now the Aire.   My colleagues have been trying to let the moribund fish out of the locks but it isn't looking good
> 
> There are thousands of fish dead. Tradpak is still burning and chemicals running into the watercourse.
> 
> I have been horrified by the things I've had to witness today. If you think the initial fire was bad, the aftermath is so much worse.



Good you were there - so often any wildlife implications are a complete afterthought.


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## Pickman's model (Apr 28, 2014)

Dogsauce said:


> Industrial premises at 2am on a bank holiday - no reason anyone would be there (not a 24hr kind of business).


what about arsonists?


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## Pickman's model (Apr 28, 2014)

machine cat said:


> Fires at sites like this take ages to put out.
> 
> This one in Sherburn-In-Elmet started in January and is still burning today:


you'd have thought they'd try to move the tyres not yet on fire away from the flames to limit the amount of fuel.


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## machine cat (Apr 28, 2014)

Looks like a bit of rain and fresh water being pumped is starting to clean up the canal


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## machine cat (Apr 28, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> you'd have thought they'd try to move the tyres not yet on fire away from the flames to limit the amount of fuel.



 Maybe it's too hot to get near?


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## Pickman's model (Apr 28, 2014)

machine cat said:


> Maybe it's too hot to get near?


maybe they're adding fuel to the flames.


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## machine cat (Apr 28, 2014)

pogofish said:


> Good you were there - so often any wildlife implications are a complete afterthought.



True.

And this is a prime example of our public services working together and sorting a crisis. Fire Service, EA and CRT. All of which are facing massive redundancies.


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## Yelkcub (Apr 28, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> you'd have thought they'd try to move the tyres not yet on fire away from the flames to limit the amount of fuel.


 
I don't know enough about such things to think that those making such decisions don't know better


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## Bingo (May 9, 2014)

the place was an accident waiting to happen, as I said to my mate a year ago


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## machine cat (Jul 31, 2014)

And now it's Ferrybridge!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-28588714


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## Bingo (Aug 8, 2014)

The shit from the Armley site was still dribbling into the canal yesterday. Informed Environment Agency but they really are a useless shower of shite.

Their regional office is about 500m away


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