A fire at Tata Steel’s UK site in Port Talbot has damaged some of its operations, Kallanish learns.
The Mid and West Wales Fire Service attended the site on Wednesday evening at around 20:00 to deal with a fire at one of the site’s processing lines. As of 07:00 local time Thursday, the emergency services remained on site and were working with local teams to completely extinguish the fire, a Tata Steel spokesperson states.
The fire service retains control of the area of the cold mill where the fire first took place, an updated Tata Steel statement says.
The steelmaker adds: “We are therefore currently unable to assess the cause of the fire, the scale of the damage or the potential impact on operations. Nevertheless, the company is investigating a number of options in order to minimise the potential impact on its downstream businesses and external customers.”
Tata notes that the fire was restricted to a confined area. While the site’s hot rolling mill was paused as a precaution, it was unaffected and is expected to re-start production shortly.
All personnel have been accounted for and evacuated from the area safely.
Tata says the incident is not related to the safe and successful demolition of the empty, redundant gas holder earlier yesterday evening.
In a statement, Sharon Graham, general secretary of workers union Unite, says that the fire has caused “substantial damage to a vital production line”. She is calling for Tata and the government to ensure that operations are rebuilt as swiftly as possible and that jobs are protected during any period of disruption.
Photo Credit: Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
Author: Carrie Bone
