Large scrap metal blaze in Preston may take days to secure

Firefighters in Preston battled a scrap metal blaze at Global Ardour on Longridge Road that Lancashire Fire Service said could take days to make safe. The fire was first spotted at about 1:25 a.m. BST on Saturday, and about 300 tonnes of scrap metal were ablaze.

Lancashire Fire Service commander Ian Armistead said the incident was producing a significant smoke plume and that it would remain visible for some time. That made the fire a difficult industrial job rather than a quick knockdown, with crews forced to deal with dense piles of mixed metal, machinery and debris that can hold heat long after the main flames are out.

The public-safety concern extended beyond the yard itself. Smoke from a large scrap fire can affect nearby residents, drivers and workers even when flames are not spreading to other buildings, and a response that lasts for days keeps emergency crews tied up on one site instead of available for other calls across Lancashire. Long runs of visible smoke can also reduce visibility around the area while crews continue to work through hot spots.

Preston has already seen how far these fires can reach. At an earlier scrapyard blaze on the Rough Hey Industrial Estate, about 200 tonnes of cars were damaged, and smoke from that fire was visible across Lancashire. The latest incident again shows how quickly scrap yards can become major emergency scenes once they ignite, with the scale of the material, the heat trapped inside the piles and the length of the firefight all adding to the risk.