Fire at Hanson’s Ketton works, UK

Firefighters were called to an underground blaze at Hanson Cement’s Ketton works where a conveyor belt caught fire.

Once the power in the affected area was switched off, crews took just 30 mintues to extinguish the blaze.

Plant manager, Mark Cox, said the fire began because one of the conveyor belts stopped and the clinker it was carrying set the rubber conveyor belt alight.

Mr Cox added: “The hot clinker ignited a 10ft section of the belt. We phoned the fire brigade in line with our incident procedures and isolated a sealed area.

“We actually held a trial incident on site about five weeks ago so we were prepared and it went off like clockwork.”

Fire crews left the scene at about 3pm and the four remaining conveyers have since been restarted.

Mr Cox said production would not be affected as the damaged rubber belt could easily be replaced, but the plant would look into whether the clinker could be transported at a lower temperature. (Source: Stamford Mercury)