Blaze explosions terror as arsonists torch rubbish
A RESIDENT has spoken of the dramatic moment a large pile of rubbish ‘exploded’ at the back of her home.
Nova Desoer, 37, awoke to multiple blasts when a pile of dumped rubbish which included gas canisters and fat was set alight by arsonists at the back of her property on Maudsley Street, Accrington.
Neighbours have said that fly-tipping in the alleyway has become a health hazard and have urged the council to take action.
Nova went to check what the noise was at just after midnight on Friday, July 24 and was confronted with flames towering as ‘high as her house’.
She said: “I was in bed and I was awoken with a loud bang, an explosion.
“I went out side to see what had happened, the flames were huge, they were as high as the house.
“It was quite a still night but if it was windy it could have blown on to the house which is quite scary, you don’t really want to think about what could have happened.”
Firefighters from Hyndburn were called to the scene and spent half an hour extinguishing the blaze. They are treating the cause of the blaze as arson.
Nova said that this is the second incident since she moved in on April 2.
She said: “I have considered leaving because of this. I have had smoke alarms fitted, but it is still a worry going to bed wondering if this will happen again. I work three jobs, I am tired of having to deal with this.”
Gareth Edwards, who co-owns nearby business Snuggle Beds, said: “People do fly tip here a lot. Something needs to be done about it, it’s not on.
“It is a worry that type of vandalism is taking place so close to my business. We do not have customers coming to this site but if they did it would not be good for them to see. We sell mattresses and the last thing people want is a mattress that smells of smoke.”
Coun Paul Cox, Cabinet Member for Environmental issues, said; “We recognise that there have been a number of environmental issues associated with this site, which is in private ownership. We’ve been working proactively to address these matters, including the use of our enforcement powers and cleaning up the site on three separate occasions. The Council will continue to monitor the situation at the premises but we anticipate that a longer term solution for the management of the site will be forthcoming.”