Rubbish compactor catches fire at Blenheim landfill

Tuesday, 5 February 2019

Blenheim Volunteer Fire Brigade extinguish a fire at Bluegums Landfill in a rubbish compactor.

A rubbish compactor burst into flames at a Marlborough landfill on Tuesday.

The Blenheim Volunteer Fire Brigade was called to a machinery fire at Bluegums Landfill, on the southern outskirts of Blenheim, about noon on Tuesday.

Bluegums Landfill in Blenheim has been closed as a fire crew extinguishes a compactor fire.

Chief fire officer Nigel Botham said the fire was contained to the steel wheel rubbish compactor.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and the crew peeled off the panels of the compactor to ensure there were no parts inside still burning, Botham said.

A steel wheel compactor flattens rubbish at the Bluegums Landfill in Blenheim.

The landfill was closed while a fire crew worked at the site, and they were still determining what caused the fire, Botham said.

A total fire ban is in force on Taylor Pass Rd, as the fire risk near Bluegums Landfill is high.

Temperatures peaked at 31 degrees Celsius about 1pm on Tuesday, according to Metservice.

It followed Marlborough fire crews' busiest day of the season so far, on Monday, when heat and strong winds flared up multiple fires across the region.

The landfill fire comes three weeks after dumped rubbish sparked a blaze in Blenheim's Waste Sorting Centre, which caused about $1.5 million in damage.