Glasgow Times

Concerns after Linwood blaze

A MASSIVE fire that erupted at a waste treatment facility in Linwood on Sunday night has caused “worry” in the community, elected members have said.

Renfrewshi­re councillor­s reacted to the “scary” blaze at Enva’s WEEE Solutions site in the industrial estate in Burnbrae Road as they were updated on the incident at yesterday’s full council summit.

They were told by Gordon McNeil, the local authority’s director of environmen­t, housing and infrastruc­ture, that there have been “no reported injuries or casualties to date” as a result of the fire.

He said it had broken out at the waste electrical and electronic equipment shed which contained items such as metals and batteries.

Councillor Eddie Devine, who represents Paisley Southeast, raised specific concerns about “fire control” at the site.

He said: “Whatever it was if they have any it’s certainly not good enough because I could watch it from my house and I’m sure the provost could see it from her house.

“I was watching things flying through the air and exploding in the air and we’re asking firefighte­rs to go in there at public cost, so I hope when it comes to looking at this they’re told and other companies are told they need to up their game. This isn’t good enough.”

Provost Lorraine Cameron, an SNP representa­tive for Paisley Southwest, responded: “Obviously you all know my son is a paramedic and he works for the special operations response team and it’s that team that responds to incidents like that.

“I have to say, my first thought that evening was is my son there? It looked horrific and very dangerous.”

Councillor Robert Innes, an SNP representa­tive for Houston, Crosslee and Linwood, said: “I thought it was fireworks going off for the football but it wasn’t. I could see it in Bridge of Weir.”

Enva previously said the blaze will be the subject of “an immediate and thorough investigat­ion”.

Yesterday, it released a statement adding that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had handed control of the facility back to the company.

An Enva spokespers­on said: “Firstly, we would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has supported us since Sunday evening.

“We would also like to restate our sincere apology to local residents and businesses that have been impacted and thank them for their understand­ing.”