Multiple fire crews battle large blaze at New Milton Sand and Ballast in Pennington
FIREFIGHTERS spent several hours battling a large blaze at a waste processing site in Pennington.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the New Milton Sand and Ballast (NMSB) facility off Milford Lane as the alarm was raised at 4.50pm yesterday (Tuesday).
Nearby residents were urged to keep their windows and doors closed while the fire crews fought to contain flames engulfing around 40 tonnes of household waste.
Announcing the fire to customers, a Facebook post by NMSB said: “Firstly, everyone is safe.
“Processes were followed correctly and the emergency services are on site managing the situation with our teams.”
Fire crews involved in tackling the incident were from Lymington, New Milton, Beaulieu, Ringwood, Romsey, Eastleigh and Portchester.
A Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service Twitter post during the incident said: “Our crews are dealing with a waste fire at a site in Milford Road, Pennington.
“If you live nearby, please close your windows and doors as there is some smoke in the area.”
The incident was scaled down by 9.30pm, with relief crews from St Mary’s and Hightown working with NMSB site staff to deal with hotspots.
All firefighters finally left the scene another three hours later, handing over the matter to a site manager.
The site was kept closed today (Wednesday) as NMSB launched an investigation to establish the exact circumstances that led to the blaze.
An update on the firm’s Facebook page advised people to instead use its sites in Holbury and Kinson for commercial, inert and green waste. Its New Milton facility should only be used for inert waste.
“Thank you for your understanding, we will endeavour to get things up and running as soon as possible,” the post added.
A Hampshire police spokesperson confirmed officers had been alerted to the blaze but were not required to attend.
“The incident is not being treated as suspicious at this time, as such we are not investigating,” the spokesperson added.
The fire service also told the A&T it would not be investigating the blaze.
