Bitumen Storage Silo Destroyed in Industrial Fire

Fire crews responded to a fire at an industrial estate in Reading, England early Wednesday morning to put down a fire in a bitumen storage silo, several local news organizations reported.

News website GetReading reported that the blaze started after bitumen combusted in a part of the facility. Firefighters received a call about an incident at the site at about 5:30 a.m.

“Upon arrival firefighters found a fire was smoldering inside a bitumen container,” a fire service spokesperson told GetReading. “They used cutting gear to gain access to the fire and then extinguished it using a hose reel.”

The incident is thought to have originated at Clydebridge Chemicals, Paul Mortimer, watch manager at the Whitley Wood fire station told The Reading Chronicle.

“The size of the container was pretty big. It carries about 25,000 litres of bitumen,” said Mortimer.

Flames likely rendered the silo a loss, according to the watch manager. 

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