By Neil Pooran
AROUND 50 firefighters tackled a blaze which lasted for hours at a major cement works in Dunbar.
Though the fire service warned a cloud of toxic smoke could be released from the fire in Lafarge cement works, no evacuations were ordered and nearby roads remained open.
The alarm was raised just after 12.30pm today (Wednesday). When firefighters arrived at scene, they discovered a well-developed fire in a concrete bunker used to house around 50 tonnes of rubber tyre chips.
The fire service warned residents to keep their windows and doors closed as the operation went on. They said the wind could carry the smoke to nearby residential areas or across the carriageway of the A1.
The fire service used an extendable arm to carry a hose to a high height to extinguish the blaze.
Emergency service staff at the scene saw plumes of smoke sporadically emerging from the burning industrial compound throughout the day.
Eight fire engines, supporting command vehicles and a cherry picker attended the incident.
The Lafarge cement works is the only cement works in Scotland, and has the capacity to produce up to one million tonnes of cement a year.
It employs around 150 people, and has been operating since 1963.
