Tons of Bailed Paper Burns at UK Recycling Plant

At least 150 tons of baled paper went up in smoke Friday evening at a recycling plant in northern England in a fire that is under investigation as a possible arson, local media reports.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service dispatched firefighters from Peterlee and Wheatley Hill to the recycling plant on Thornley Station Industrial Estate in Shotton Colliery. Firefighters arrived to find the paper bales fully involved.

According to the Northern Echo newspaper, four firefighters donned breathing apparatus to battle the blaze. Three water jets and a hose reel were also used to extinguish the fire.

Durham Police report the fire is being treated as an arson.