A N operation to tackle a huge blaze at a waste recycling plant in Derry is expected to continue today.
Firefighters fought throughout the night to bring the fire at the reycling site in the Creggan under control.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) say they expect the blaze at the Brickkiln waste facility site on Heather Road to be finally extinguished sometime today.
Last night a spokesman said that 26 fire officers would be working throughout the night using two pump appliances, two high volume water appliances and an aerial high-reach pump.
It’s expected that it will take more than 40 hours to extinguish the fire - which was reported just before 6pm on Saturday - due to the heavy volumes of burning material in the a large shed.
Black plumes of smoke could be seen for miles as the fire raged and nearby householders were advised to keep their windows closed for 24 hours.
At the height of the blaze, there were 58 fire fighters on site, mainly from the surrounding area but also from Belfast and Omagh working together.
NIFRS group commander William Johnston said that the main issue was dealing with “hundreds of tonnes of mixed waste materials” which were still burning inside the shed.
“We initially had to tackle the fire from the outside as it was felt that the building would be structurally unsafe but now we are able to get inside and with the help of the owner remove large quantities of materials to check that they have been extinguished.
“It’s just a long, laborious process.”
The cause of the fire will not be determined until after the shed is made safe.
The Heather Road is to remain closed until the fire is out in order to facilitate the running of the high volume water pumps.
In November 2015, a fire at a Brickkiln waste management facility in the Maydown area of the city took firefighters a week to extinguish.
