Discarded distress flare ignites in dustbin lorry
- Wed, 1 Sep 2010
- Comments (3)
Berthon Boat Company's boatyard in Lymington was sealed off after a discarded distress flare ignited in a dustbin lorry.
The flare had been dumped in a skip and went off as it was emptied into a lorry.
On the advice of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the dustmen tipped the rubbish on to the ground, enabling fire crews to extinguish the blaze. As a precaution, police cordoned off part of Berthon boatyard until the fire was out.
Station Manager David Marshall told the Daily Echo: "When fire crews arrived a considerable amount of smoke was coming from the flare, which was still on the lorry. We've been called to a number of incidents involving discarded flares, resulting in a considerable financial burden on the public purse. Anyone wishing to dispose of a flare should seek the advice of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency."
Story: The Daily Echo
Lucy Thomson,
September 02 17:39
Perhaps if the MCGA and/or the police made it easier for us to dispose of out of date flares then this kind of thing wouldn't happen? I spent months trying to dispose of mine, driving around with them in the boot of my car hoping one day the Coastguard station would take them - having been told it would be 4 months, when I rang 4 months later it was going to be another 4 months and when I turned up at the local police station it took nearly an hour for them to finally take them and they were guessing at what paperwork to use...