'Explosions' at Knowsley oil plant fire site
- Published
The fire broke out at Mulberry Waste Ltd plant at about 03:40 BST
More than 60 firefighters have tackled a fire at an oil processing plant after residents reported seeing explosions.
The blaze broke out at Mulberry Waste Ltd in Stockpit Road, Kirkby in Knowsley, at about 03:40 BST.
Residents were asked to stay indoors as a large smoke plume covered the area. There were no reports of injuries.
The fire was out at about 07:25. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is investigating but the blaze is not being treated as suspicious.
Twelve fire engines attended the blaze in the early hours of Friday
A spokeswoman said: "Crews are currently damping down the area and dealing with remaining areas of heat."
Raymond Edmunds tweeted, external: "I seen the explosions, hope everyone nearby is ok."
The waste site contains large numbers of 1,000 litre industrial drums of waste oil, the Liverpool Echo reported., external
Stockpit Road will remain closed
The flames destroyed two large silos at the site and oil had spilled out of the site.
Knowsley Council is using five tonnes of sand to absorb the oils in Stockpit Road, a spokeswoman said.
The road will remain closed and further cleaning is required on Saturday, she added.
There was another fire in the shredding unit at the plant's site in Knowsley Industrial Park in November last year, the fire service said.