A FIRE that tore through a Chepstow skip hire firm has been deemed accidental, after a 12 hour blaze that started at around 4.30pm on Thursday 6th August.

More than 28 fire crews from Monmouthshire and neighbouring counties were involved and worked through the night to get the fire under control, with fire fighters still on the scene at 4am.

Despite initial concerns about the cause of the fire, Head of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Fire Control Jennie Griffiths posted an update on Saturday, tweeting: “Fire investigators have attended the site and established an accidental cause for the fire.”

At the height of the blaze, multiple fire engine crews, one breathing apparatus support unit, an aerial appliance and a water bowser were in attendance, with a chemical incident unit attending as a precaution.

It is understood that the gates of the premises, which was holding around 600 tonnes of general household and building waste, were shut and locked at 4.30pm which hampered the fire crews’ access to the fire.

Smoke and ash from the fire drifted across the river and into Gloucestershire from the scene, that has been named locally as RB Skip Hire on Station Road, Chepstow.

Situated at the point where the riverbank passes below the A48 road and railway bridges, the smoke from the fire was causing traffic to build up throughout town as visibility was dramatically reduced along routes into and out of the town.

There were reports of pops and bangs coming from burning ‘asbestos’ on the site.

South Wales Fire and Rescue station manager Adrian Moyce said: “Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were committed to the building to prevent internal fire spread. This tactic prevented the fire from spreading through the rest of the building.

“The firefighters’ actions ensured that only 100 tonnes of waste were involved in the fire.”

“Once the fire was under control, machinery was used to bring the smouldering waste outside the building where it could be extinguished.”

“At 11pm on Thursday this was stopped, due to poor light and two appliances remained overnight to ensure there was no further internal fire spread.”