On the edge of Armageddon: Staggering pictures show firefighters' battle to contain £6million blaze sparked by a Chinese lantern



11 firefighters injured in the inferno at recycling plant in Smethwick, Birmingham

The plume of smoke rose 6,000ft into the night sky and residents told to keep windows closed



More than 35 fire engines from emergency services throughout the region called to the scene

Fire was caused by a Chinese sky lantern, which was seen drifting over the plant and dropping on to plastic bales



Fire officer said it is the biggest blaze the West Midlands had ever seen

Another top officer says there must be a review into use of sky lanterns




Silhouetted against a sky of churning smoke and searing flame, firemen battle to contain an inferno.

This was the apocalyptic scene yesterday as fire engulfed a recycling plant in what witnesses described as ‘hell on earth’. The cause? A single Chinese lantern.

The lantern drifted down on to a bale of plastic and within minutes the flames were spreading through some 100,000 tons of recycling – worth £6million.

More than 200 firefighters have been tackling the blaze on an industrial estate in Smethwick, near Birmingham, in the biggest blaze West Midlands Fire Service has ever seen.

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Inferno: Firefighters are silhouetted against the sea of flame caused by the burning mass of plastic recycling material in Smethwick, near Birmingham

The fire service said 200 firefighters were at the scene. 11 firefighters required medical treatment, three of them had to be sent to hospital

Three firefighters were hospitalised and a further eight were injured bringing the inferno - caused by a Chinese sky lantern that landed at the site - under control.

Shocked residents described 'apocalyptic' scenes 'like something from an action movie' that unfolded at 11pm on Sunday evening.



More than 35 fire engines as well as police and ambulance crews rushed to the scene at the J & A Young recycling plant where they battled throughout the night to control the flames.

The smouldering wreckage of the gutted building is still burning today and fire bosses warned the sheer scale of the blaze means it could burn all week.



Thick plumes of black smoke billowed up to 6,000ft in the air and could be seen over 80 miles away including Oxford, Coventry and by hundreds of motorists driving on the M40 and M1 motorways towards London.

Area commander Steve Vincent, revealed it was the biggest blaze the UK's second largest fire service had seen in their 40-year history.



He said: 'A Chinese lantern was spotted on CCTV floating across and into the site and starting a fire in plastic bales.'



'We haven't evacuated any of the local residents because this is mainly an industrial area but we have had some minor injuries to some of our firefighters at the scene.'

Teamwork: More than 35 fire engines from emergency services throughout the region were called to the raging fire

Blaze: There were fears the smoke would cause a delay to flights at Birmingham International Airport, although none have been reported so far An aerial photo of the burning mountain of waste. Firefighters struggled to extinguish pools of molten plastic Fiery wasteland: Ash and dirty pools of water are left in the aftermath of the fire

This aerial view of the Jayplas recycling centre before it was set on fire by a Chinese Lantern gives a sense of the sheer scale of the site

He added: 'We're working with other emergency services and they're all safely being treated.

'We will have major congestion in this area because we will be fighting this fire for the next few days. This is the largest fire that we've had in the West Midlands.

'It is a major fire and we've got support from surrounding fire brigades to help us deal with this.'



Vijith Randeniya, chief fire officer of West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service, has called for a review into the use of Chinese lanterns after the accident.

From above: Aerial photo of the fire at the Jayplas, a plastics and paper recycling depot in Smethwick. The fire is the biggest that the West Midlands fire service has ever tackled

Smoke rises over the Birmingham skyline earlier today. Smethwick sits on the edge of the UK's second-largest city

A fire engine (left) is dwarfed by the fire. Firefighters had to to use plant machinery to 'break up' the bales of plastic to get at the heart of the fire

Huge mission: Three firefighters were hospitalised and a further eight were injured bringing the inferno caused by a Chinese sky lantern that landed at the site - under control

He said: 'My forensics people have been here from the start and have reviewed CCTV and and spoken to people and looked at the way the fire started and looking at the CCTV evidence, you can see a Chinese lantern floating gently, and then land and then eight minutes later you see the fire start.'

He said the Chief Fire Officers Association had previously called for a review of the use of Chinese lanterns and said it was time that 'sensible people have a sensible discussion' about the issue.

'We don't want to be party poopers and we know they are used in a lot of celebrations,' he said.

'What we want to do is make sure sensible people have a sensible discussion about the use of these things.

'Clearly there is a cause and an effect

'We have a situation where a fire has started here, £6 million worth of loss, started by one of these lanterns and that was eminently preventable.'

Fear: James Gillespie, 34, who lives near the site, said: 'There was this terrifying wall of flame when I looked out of my window, it was like the apocalypse had come'

An eyewitness described a series of explosions as the fire spread among the recyclable material

West Midlands Fire Service has confirmed 11 firefighters received treatment at the scene. A spokesman said three were taken to hospital - one had an eye injury and another suffered an ankle injury. It is not known what the third was hospitalised for but none of the injuries are serious

He added fire crews were expected to be on the site until at least tomorrow, but were having to use plant machinery to "break up" the bales of plastic to get at the heart of the fire.

One of the problems facing firefighters is having to extinguish molten pools of melted plastic, he said.



West Midlands Police closed nearby roads and brought in the force helicopter to relay images of the fire down to crews working on the ground.

Witness Steven Bolton, 29, from Smethwick, said: 'It was like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster - I've never seen anything like it in my life.

'It was apocalyptic - there was just a wall of flames that extended as far as the eye could see.

'I could make out this silhouette of firefighters against this orange back drop.

'I could not believe what I was seeing. I've got a friend in Oxford who said he could see the smoke from the motorway.'

Ian Dangerfield, a 46-year-old documentary maker from West Bromwich, said: 'It was unbelievable. I could smell smoke and saw a huge cloud and I thought "there's no way that's a big thunderstorm".

'I went out the front door and could see the smoke going across the sky so I grabbed my camera. Police were stopping cars.'

'It was absolute chaos. I've never known anything like it in my life.'

Firefighters were expecting to be at the scene for several days damping down the flames

Area commander Steve Vincent said: 'This is the largest fire that we've had in the West Midlands. It is a major fire and we've got support from surrounding fire brigades to help us deal with this'

Smoke and ash even reached the city of Coventry, more than 20 miles away, with motorists in the area finding their vehicles covered with soot from the fire

Eye-witness Jack Awal said: 'It was like a scene from a movie. There were so many large explosions and loud bangs. It was like a firework display - there were loud crackles and bangs every few seconds'

Burn: The burning plastic created roiling plumes of choking black smoke Wreckage: An aerial photo of the fire at the Jayplas, plastics and paper recycling depot in Smethwick. The fire is estimated to have caused £6million in damage

A firefighter uses a hydraulic platform during the fire at J&A Young. Flame is seen through the trees on the industrial estate housing the recycling plant and factory



Emergency: More than 35 fire engines, as well as police and ambulance crews, rushed to the scene last night

Plume: The Smethwick fire as seen from the Rowley Hills, near Dudley, taken by a firefighter on his way to work

CCTV footage reveals the blaze was sparked by a Chinese sky lantern. File picture