Buckshaw fire: Waste management company apologise over landfill blaze

The fire started at Quercia Limited's site off Dawson Lane, near Buckshaw Village, at around 12.15am on Wednesday (July 13).

Firefighters worked throughout the night battling the large "deep-seated" blaze.

By 1pm that day, 15 fire engines were battling the flames.

Incident commander Mal Dewhurst said: “We estimate approximately 6,000 sq m of surface area of the landfill is affected by the fire.”

A spokesperson for Quercia Ltd said: "Firstly, we would like to thank Lancashire Fire and Rescue for their professionalism and hard work to bring the fire under control and their ongoing work to fully extinguish it.

"We would also like to thank the Environment Agency (EA), Chorley Council, Lancashire County Council, United Utilities and other supply partners for their ongoing support.”

They continued: “We continue to work with the fire service and EA to ensure the fire is fully extinguished and prevent the possibility of any reignition. Once this work is complete there will be a formal investigation into the cause of the fire and the findings will be shared through the site liaison committee.

"We recognise that the fire has caused some concern for our neighbours and want to apologise to everyone in the local community for any inconvenience caused."

Chair of the Clayton Hall Landfill Committee Councillor Mark Clifford who is also a member responsible for Environment and Green Space said angry residents needed answers and serious questions needed answering by Quercia as to how this fire occurred and how it spread so rapidly.