Residents near major fire in West Bromwich tell of 'loud bang' and 'flashing lights'

Firefighters rushed to the site on Bullock Street, in West Bromwich, at around 2am after a blaze involving 60 tons of waste rags broke out.

And it woke nearby residents up, with many reporting hearing a loud noise before seeing tons of smoke billow into the sky in the early hours.

One man, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Express & Star: "It must've been around 3am or so when I saw all the flashing lights and looked out of the window – there was a lot of smoke and it was really quite bad, there was about eight fire engines there.

"To be honest, there's been that many fires here – not so long ago there was on fire just down the road, about 100 yards, which could be seen all the way from Telford. It's an industrial estate and there's lots of flammable stuff there.

"I think there must have been an explosion because my partner, who lives nearby, told me she heard an explosion before the fire. The fire engines have gone throughout the night and morning and there's still a couple still there at the moment."

The man said the smoke smelled like plastic and that his windows were shut, before the call was issued on social media by West Midlands Fire Service.

"The fire service said they told people to shut their windows but nobody told me," he said.

"But it's all about common sense at the end of the day. If you see smoke you close your windows so you can't breathe it in."

A spokesman for West Midlands Fire and Rescue said the severe fire was reported in a steel frame and metal-clad industrial building and involved around 60 tons of industrial waste rags. It was attended by eight firefighting crews, a hydraulic platform and supporting crews.

"Crews had two main jets, one hose reel jet and a total of 13 breathing apparatus wearers tackling the blaze. An onsite digger was used to remove affected material from the building to be extinguished and damped down," they added.

Another man, from the industrial site, said he received a call in the early hours to say there had been a big fire – and described seeing five or six fire engines when he arrived at the scene, adding there was another major fire a few months before nearby.

And another person who arrived at the scene at 7.30am said all they could see was fire engines when they arrived, adding: "You don't expect to turn up to that."

Meanwhile a resident added they heard a "loud bang" which woke them up – and they were still tired from it, adding they had witnessed "lots of fire engines" at the scene and firefighters heard off to tackle the blaze.

The fire comes after a large blaze at a building in Kelvin Way, near to the industrial site, with 100 firefighters and 20 fire vehicles attending the fire in August last year.

The fire took hold at a recycling centre and involves large bales of cardboard, near to a number of industrial units. It was estimated the fire involved 300 tons of compacted, baled cardboard.