The fire at a battery recycling plant in North Ayrshire called for a significant response from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS)
Emergency services received reports of a fire at Fenix Battery Recycling on Byrehill Place in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, shortly after midday on Wednesday 9 April. SFRS personnel responded to deal with the blaze with 10 fire appliances plus specialist resources mobilised. This included specialist HAZMAT units as a result of potentially hazardous fumes issuing from the blaze.
Locals reported explosions and large plumes of smoke issuing from the site, and SFRS advised that windows and doors should be kept closed and not to pick up any debris in the surrounding area. A number of properties in the vicinity of the site were evacuated as a precautionary measure, with a North Ayrshire Council spokesperson saying: “We would ask residents to continue to follow the advice they receive from the lead agencies, and we remain ready to continue to offer any support we can.”
The council opened a nearby community centre to accommodate residents during the evacuation until the fire was brought under control later that afternoon and people could return to their homes. A Police Scotland statement confirmed that there were “no reports of anyone having been injured.”
This blaze comes almost exactly a year after a similar incident occurred at the site, after which the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) served Fenix Battery Recycling with two enforcement notices.
A statement from SEPA issued in May 2024 said:
“Two enforcement notices have been served by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) requiring Fenix Battery Recycling Ltd to remove waste batteries that have been on the site at West Byrehill Industrial Estate for longer than six months. The Agency have also suspended approval as an Approved Battery Treatment Operator (ABTO).
“SEPA have issued the enhanced package of enforcement actions following both non-compliance with licence conditions and site infrastructure being destroyed by the fire. Continuing to carry on the licensed activities at the site in its current condition would be considered a risk which could cause serious pollution of the environment and serious harm to human health.”
The company was barred from undertaking any further activities on site with the removal of the remaining waste to appropriately licenced sites.
In the statement, Lin Bunten, SEPA Chief Operating Officer, Regulation, Business, and Environment, also revealed that SEPA had “partially suspended Fenix Battery Recycling Ltd’s licence last year [2023] when it failed to comply with a previous enforcement notice we served. This prevented them receiving any more special waste on site”.
With this second fire occurring within the year of the first, locals are raising questions about the safety of the site. One resident told STV News, “We’re not happy it wasn’t cleared and made safe a year ago. The people from the factory have a duty of care to make sure it’s safe, and they are not doing that.”
A joint investigation by Police Scotland and SFRS into the cause of the fire has been launched.