Firefighters from Havering stations joined their colleagues to help tackle the biggest fire in London for years yesterday (Sunday).
Crews from Romford, Hornchurch, Wennington and Harold Hill joined 200 firefighters from across London at the at Hunts Waste Recycling centre in Chequers Lane, Dagenham.
Smoke from the blaze was visible for miles as the single-storey building burned – including from the Olympic Park in Stratford, six miles away.
The blaze started around 1.15pm, and the incident was declared under control at 5.30pm.
A crew from Romford is still currently at the scene, helping to deal with the smouldering remains of the blaze.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: “We’ve not seen a fire of this size in London for several years - it’s certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade.”
He added: “At this stage we aren’t sure how the blaze started as our focus is getting the flames under control.
“Fire crews will remain at the scene for as long as necessary and a thorough investigation will begin once the fire is out in order to establish how it started.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here