Fire at Meppel recycling company; houseboats evacuated

A large fire is raging at recycling company Talen Afvalrecycling in Meppel on Thursday morning. The residents of ten nearby houseboats were evacuated and are currently accommodated in the fire station, NOS reports.

Firefighters are having great difficulty extinguishing the fire, which spread across several piles of waste, including a pile of wood. The fire brigade is currently trying to isolate the fire in the wood pile so that it can burn out in a controlled manner and not spread any further, a spokesperson for local safety office Veilgheidsregio Drenthe said to NOS.

The fire is releasing a large amount of smoke. The houseboats were evacuated because they are right in the middle of the smoke. Other local residents are advised to keep their windows and doors closed and switch off their ventilation.

Local residents have been concerned about safety at the recycling company for some time, according to RTV Drenthe. The company received multiple warnings from the municipality in the past. For example, waste was not properly separated and not stored according to fire safety requirements.

Brandweer is druk bezig met brandbestrijding #grip1 pic.twitter.com/mLXdM2TKsp

— VR Drenthe (@VRDrenthe) November 1, 2018