Huge plume of smoke as firefighters battle industrial site blaze

Updated 15 minutes ago

Firefighters remain at the scene of a fire on an industrial estate near Paisley in Renfrewshire.

Emergency services were called to the Enva e-waste facility around 9 p.m. on Sunday after residents reported hearing loud explosions.

Ten fire appliances attended the Linwood Industrial Estate in Elderslie. Five aircraft remained on site Monday morning.

A large plume of smoke could be seen drifting from the site north towards Glasgow. No injuries were reported.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has advised residents in the affected area to stay indoors with windows and doors closed.

Motorists should keep windows and vents closed and turn off air conditioning.

An eyewitness told BBC Scotland News he initially thought the explosions were due to people setting off fireworks as Scotland played Hungary in the Euros.

He added: “But then we looked out the window and saw this huge plume of smoke drifting from Johnstone, Elderslie towards Paisley.

“I went out and took a look and saw that something had clearly caught fire quite significantly.

“Then there was about thirty minutes of almost continuous explosions. It sounded like gunshots or fireworks or something.”

The industrial area is less than four miles from Glasgow Airport. A spokesperson said flights were not affected by smoke from the fire.

The fire broke out at the Enva electronic waste facility, located in the industrial zone. An Enva spokesperson said the incident was brought under control and no one was injured.

The spokesperson said: “We would like to apologize to local residents and businesses for any inconvenience caused and ask them to please follow the advice issued by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“We will contact all affected customers as soon as possible to ensure continuity of service.

“Our Linwood general waste recycling facility, although unaffected by the fire, will remain closed until the emergency services cordon is lifted and operational responsibility for the site is returned to Enva.”

Burnbrae Road in Linwood remains closed at the Linclive interchange due to the fire.