Firefighters are advising recycling plants on how to store rubbish to prevent fires. It comes just two weeks after the biggest fire the West Midlands has ever seen. A Chinese lantern landed on thousands of tonnes of rubbish at a centre in Smethwick.
Firefighters are warning over the issues of fire safety for major waste and recycling plants, following a major fire in Smethwick earlier this month.
Vij Randeniya, President of the Chief Fire Officers Association said better planning could reduce the impact of a fire.
He said: "We've had 15 fires in waste transfer stations this year, they've had 200 in the country this year and it's an increasing problem, in fact in Kidderminster there's one still burning.
"We want to work with the industry in order that we can make sure that these products are stored as safely as possible, that they are unlikely to catch fire and if they do, they're very very small."
Northamptonshire's Arson Task Force is warning local residents about floating lanterns following the fire at a Smethwick recycling plant.
Around 50,000 tonnes of plastic recycling material and a factory is on fire in Smethwick.